Tonight’s dinner was pan-fried Verlasso Salmon with a spicy aioli and a boiled artichoke to dip in garlic butter. Verlasso is a farmed salmon. Its flesh is more yellow than the wild-caught salmon that mature in the oceans. The color difference is attributable to the way it is raised – it is fatty because it doesn’t spend its life swimming like hell to avoid becoming another fish’s dinner, and it is that fat that makes the flesh yellow.
The spicy aioli recipe came from a recipe card that I found at the Central Market several years ago. The ingredients are a cup of mayo, a tablespoon of diced shallot, a tablespoon of diced garlic cloves, a teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of white pepper, and one or two tablespoonsful of Cento Calabrian Chili paste depending on how much heat you like. I make this stuff several times a year; it keeps well in the fridge and goes well with stronger tasting fish. I think that it would overpower white fish (ling cod, Chilean sea bass, grouper, etc.).
Speaking of Chilean Sea Bass, who the hell can afford it? It’s a luxury item for most of us. I was in the Central Market yesterday, and I saw a large batch of Stone Crab Claws. We used to buy them back in the days when we worked for the State agencies. They were $11-12/lb and very tasty. The batch that I saw yesterday were $59.99/lb. As much as I love this particular seafood item, all I can say is, “I don’t think so.”
If I win the multi-million-dollar Powerball, perhaps I will buy Stone Crab Claws, and I will post the crab claw porn here. 🙂