Crispy Skin Salmon with Lemon Parmesan Sauce

INGREDIENTS

3-4 skin-on salmon fillets about 1.5 pounds total

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons avocado (or other high-temperature oil)

2 shallots, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup coconut milk

⅓ cup mascarpone cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 lemons halved and grilled

3 tablespoons fresh herbs like chives, tarragon or thyme, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh dill chopped, plus more for serving

METHOD

Place salmon filets on a paper-towel lined plate to dry. Let sit 5-10 minutes, then turn over and dry an additional 5-10 minutes. Season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add salmon skin side down. Cook until skin is crisp and salmon easily pulls away from the pan, about 4-5 minutes. Carefully flip and cook other side until salmon registers between 110 and 120 F for medium rare, about 2 minutes more.
Remove salmon from pan and set aside. Meanwhile, to the same pan add shallots and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, then cook 30 seconds more. Pour in coconut milk and mascarpone cheese, then stir until cheese has completely melted. Add parmesan, juice from 1 lemons and fresh herbs, then whisk to combine. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove from the heat, then either return salmon to the pan or serve on an island of Kabocha mash “floating” in the sauce.
Grill lemon halves in separate grill pan for garnish. Set aside.

Kabocha Squash Mash

1 Kabocha squash, cut up and seeded

Avocado oil (or other high-temperature oil)

Teaspoon salt

Teaspoon ground black pepper

5 Tablespoons butter and a sprinkle more salt

3 Tablespoons lemon parmesan sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
Cut up and seed your kabocha squash. Of note, this may be the hardest plant to cut on the planet! Make sure your knife is sharp ( I use a freshly sharpened butcher’s knife) and from a good step back, I take my first wack! …think “chopping down a tree”. Then, when my knife is embedded in the first inch of flesh, pick up the squash via the knife handle I am holding and smash it against the cutting board. THEN, I use my body weight to pierce through the rest of the squash. I never get it totally centered and that does not matter. Remove the seeds with a spoon and cut the two sides into two or three parts each.
Spread the kabocha chunks on the lined cookie sheet and coat, on every side, with avocado oil
Sprinkle orange flesh with salt and pepper and then turn the chunks over so that the skin side is facing up.
Bake for 40 - 50 minutes until tender.
Place butter and sauce in the bottom of a medium bowl.
Using dish gloves to protect your hands from the heat, scoop orange flesh out of the skins and place in the bowl over the butter and sauce. Mix to combine until a thick, creamy texture is achieved.
Salt to taste. Set aside

On a large entrée sized plate, spoon 1 cup of sauce into the center and spread into an oval shape - slightly longer than your salmon fillet.
Create an island within the sauce oval using about 1 - 1 1/2 cups kabocha mash.
Place salmon fillet, skin side down on the “island”.
Garnish with micro greens or herbs and a grilled lemon half.
Serve immediately!