Spice-Rubbed Salmon: "A La di Stasio"

I have an everyday salmon spice rub. It's mostly salt, which is all the fish really needs to taste good, but it also includes paprika, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, chili powder and cayenne. You can adjust the seasonings as you see fit, but generally I add them in that order from most to least (a ton of salt, a fair bit of paprika, some garlic, a little bit of cumin, a good few twists of freshly ground pepper, even less chili powder, and a touch of cayenne. Then you take a salmon, or char, or trout filet (char and trout being just as delicious depending on the origins, but substantially more sustainable, again, depending on the origins of the fish), apply a thin layer of your favourite dijon (or add mustard powder to your spice blend) and sprinkle on the rub. Contrary to the linguistic implication, you do not actually rub on the spice rub. It kind of hurts the flesh of the fish. A Japanese sushi chef would probably hate you for life.

So, just sprinkle.

This is not the recipe I am going to give you. In fact, to see how to cook this you must make it to the end of the recipe proper below...or scroll. Ah, internet...

Sometimes it's good to break habits and try something new. So I found a recipe in Josée di Stasio's cookbook A la di Stasio for Spice-Rubbed Salmon. It seemed too simple. It would probably be bland, but bland is sometimes good, and fish flavour should not always be overwhelmed by spices (traditionally a lot of spices are used on fish in many hot countries because it masks the flavour of un-fresh fish. Spices also act as preservatives, like the whole concept of salt cod, and often have anti-microbial properties like in chiles and a whole lot of other grind-able seasonings). So, really, the best fish will be served with very, very little seasoning as a sign of its freshness. Sushi, ceviche, any country that prepares whole grilled fish like Greece, France, and Italy will keep it simple. Either you'll find the flavours boring and underwhelming, or you'll taste subtleties in the meat you didn't expect. I'll admit that sometimes I'm a little bored. Anyway, di Stasio showed my arrogant youth with this simple recipe:

Ingredients
Coriander seeds
Mustard seeds (doesn't specify black or yellow, so in theory either is fine)
White or maple sugar (she really is from Quebec, the only place where it's easy to get maple sugar)
sea salt (I used Himalayan crystal salt. It's not as coarse, but it's very, very good)
Cracked black peppercorns (or ground black pepper. Same deal as the sea salt, but a substitution more out of necessity)
4 salmon fillets (or trout, or char)
2 tbsp olive oil (or 1 of oil and 1 of butter. A good butter would be divine, but the fish is sweet and tender enough as is, so oil doesn't feel like a compromise)

I do own two kinds of mustard seeds, yes. My only real question about this recipe is why the seeds aren't toasted before they're ground? Every Indian recipe I have (yes, I know this isn't supposed to be an Indian recipe) calls for you to toast whole spices in a frying pan before grinding them. Mustard seeds actually don't get ground very often because they're for some reason always toasted whole in oil. I think this is a really great recipe from di Stasio, though, because she's essentially getting you to make your own mustard powder (like my substitution suggestion in my everyday spice rub above but the flavour will be much fresher). Two possible substitutions if you don't have or want to buy mustard seeds, then, would be to apply dijon to the fillets, or use store-bought mustard powder instead of grinding mustard seeds. If you follow the actual recipe and grind the seeds, though, it will be wonderful. You will be proud. If you write 'mustard seeds' instead of dijon or mustard powder in a recipe, it also seems more gourmet I guess...di Stasio actually also mentions that in place of the coriander and mustard seeds you can use "your own blend of spices". As in, have fun, go wild.

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

Put 2 tbsp of mustard seeds and 2 tbsp of whole coriander seeds into a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle (or into a resealable plastic bag and crush them with something heavy. This works MUCH better than for olives. Thanks, Ms. di Stasio).

Then combine the ground spices with the sugar, salt and pepper. Coat the fish in the mixture and let it "infuse" the fish for a few minutes. "Infuse"...I've never thought of infusing fish before. First "macerate", now "infuse". I do love a good cooking vocabulary.

Oh, the recipe didn't say if the fillets should be skinned or not, and mine weren't. It also doesn't say if you should apply the spice mixture to both sides of the fish. I think you should. So take your un-skinned fillets and sprinkle both sides with spice mixture, trying not to tear delicate flesh and anger Japanese chefs (not just grandmothers this time) everywhere.

Now the important part. This is in my opinion the best way to cook fish. You can use it for any kind of fish and it works beautifully.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil butter over medium heat in a frying pan that can go in the oven. While it's heating, wrap the handle of the pan in aluminum foil with the shiny side of the foil facing out (this keeps the handle from getting incredibly hot. You don't have to do this, but know that the handle will be dangerous even when you grab it with an oven mitt from the oven).

When the oil is hot, add the fish and brown for one minute. Turn the fillets over and sear the other side for one minute. Then stick the pan in the oven for 5-8 minutes. The centre of the fillet should stay pink, but the flesh should flake easily with a fork (test the thickest part of the fillet for "done-ness". If you are cooking a long piece of fish, you may want to remove the thinner parts from the oven as they finish cooking, so you don't over-cook them with the thicker parts).

Putting the fish in the oven makes sure the inside of the fish cooks through, so really, you could put a lid on the frying pan on the stove and it would work too, but you can control the temperature of the oven better. The fish came out perfectly, so I trust di Stasio on this one. So stick it in a frying pan, sear both sides for a minute and then into the oven until it's done. I usually just stick fish in the oven and roast it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, but the searing locks in the flavours and crisps up the skin (with this baking method I would only apply the spice rub to the skin-less side of the fillet, as I wouldn't want to eat the slimy skin so that half of the spices would be wasted). This searing method also has a greater chance of burning the spices, especially if they're finely ground, but really, it's a great method. Just turn on the kitchen fan and enjoy your dinner.

15 minute meal. Take that, Rachel Ray.