BBQ Roasted Salmon and Spinach and Rice with Lemon.

This is one of my most favorite and most made recipes, ever. There just is not an occasion that it isn't suitable for, from a casual dinner at home to a more formal party with wine and guests, it's just delicious and simple and impossible to mess up. The ingredients are simple and easy to keep on hand, making it the perfect "what's for dinner" no brainer. And in my experience, it can turn even salmon dislikers into lovers. So, if you take nothing else from me and this blog and my endless blathering on about nothing, take this recipe and try it at least once, even if you're afraid to cook fish or think you don't like salmon. OK?

Barbecue Roasted Salmon
1/4c. pineapple juice
2 T. fresh lemon juice from a fresh lemon
4 salmon fillets (6oz each) skin removed
Begin by zesting the lemon to reserve for rub. Combine salmon and juices in a zip top bag and marinate in the refrigerator for one hour. (If you're in a hurry, you can skip this step entirely.)

For the rub:
2 T. brown sugar
4 t. chilli powder
2 t. finely grated lemon zest
3/4 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
lemon wedges for garnish

Preheat oven to 400. Remove fish from bag and discard marinade. Combine sugar and next 5 ingredients in a bowl. Rub over fish (I typically make double the recipe of rub, see below). Bake on a parchment lined sheet pan for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges.

Now, I frequently grill the fish instead of baking it which makes it even more delicious, but this method is a bit messier and more tricky, especially if you're not used to grilling fish, so stick to the oven for the first try.
Also, as you know I am a sauce loving girl, so I concocted a little finishing sauce using the same ingredients. I typically buy the six packs of cans of pineapple juice for this recipe (to have them on hand, you know) and end up just dumping a whole one into the marinade bag without measuring. Instead of throwing the marinade away, I pour it into a small saucepan and add a tablespoon or so of the rub and reduce until it's starting to get a little syrupy. Remove from heat and whisk in two or three tablespoons of cold butter and you've got an amazing sauce to pretty things up.

So, run out and get some salmon and make this recipe, and don't forget to ask the fish counter guy to skin the fillets for you to save a little on prep time. And don't buy the super expensive, wild caught or specialty salmon for this. The plain old less expensive farm raised kind will do fine.

I should also mention the Spinach and Rice with Lemon. This was a WDFW discovery that I raved about a few months ago and it happens to be absolutely fantastic with the salmon. Plus I love that it uses up the other half of the lemon you needed for the fish.

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