Yucatecan Salmon at Home

For dinner, I had some coho salmon, with fava beans, plantains, tomatoes, and a glass of shiraz.

The salmon was interesting. I took a mild risk by dousing it in one of the Yucatecan spice rubs("recados yucatecos") I've been obsessed with lately. They're quick to make, and pack a huge punch of warm spice flavor.

This particular one, adapted from Rick Bayless, contains garlic, cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, oregano, black pepper, and achiote, aka annatto, all ground with apple cider vinegar and flour to form a paste. I added some olive oil to make a better rub for fish, and rubbed away.

The rub worked really well- I went kind of light with it, figuring the flavors would be a bit heavy for the salmon. It paired nicely with the wine, a rather heavy Australian shiraz that had an ABV higher than I'd normally go for. I figured the label art went with my Mexican theme at least:

The wine was awful by itself, though slightly better slightly chilled. Paired with food, it was average. It was described as "heavy fruit" by the Trader Joe's wine assistant; I knew at the store it wouldn't be a wine that appealed to my somewhat spare, minimalist, subtle, low ABV self, but somehow we ended up with it anyway. Oh well. Like I said, cute label.

The favas and plantains were nice- the favas (actually a fava/garbanzo mix), were canned, from our local Middle Eastern grocery, and a little salty. The plantains, from our local Mexican grocery's freezer case (Goya ftw), were a little sweet. So it all balanced. Maybe they would have been better with a little crema.

The grape tomatoes were tasty- I've recently discovered they're awesome roasted in the oven with some olive oil and salt. Pretty much every veggie is. Maybe that's why I love veggies so much lately.

Sammy Scramble at Home

For breakfast, I ate a salmon scramble, with coffee to drink.

The secret to a good scramble is low heat and fatty dairy. We have tons of 'crema Salvadoreña' left from a Rick Bayless recipe I made earlier this week, so I thought it would be a good way to use the remainder.

I'm not sure if crema Salvadoreña is distinct from crema Mexicana, crema Hondurena, etc., or if style names are merely an appeal to national allegiance. The basic idea is a thickened, soured dairy product resembling, but more delicately and richly flavored than, sour cream. It has a buttery flavor, and is sometimes compared to creme fraiche.

I scrambled the eggs over low heat with a tablespoon or so of the crema and shreds of smoked salmon until soft-set, and finished with a sprinkle of freeze-dried chives (I have no idea why we have freeze-dried chives).

It turned out pretty well, although I need to learn to not buy TJ's salmon- there's always something wrong with it- either too mushy, too greasy, or way too salty. Today's is too salty, which I will take over mushy. I also just learned not to research TJ's salmon online (ewww).