Moroccan-Spiced Salmon Recipe

Emily: Chicago is known for deep dish pizza, delis and dogs but when my culinary craving is in the mood for a little elegance, I know just the place. I am Emily Rodney at the four-star L20 Restaurant in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Let us go Behind the Burner and meet the chef that is all the rave.

I am here with executive chef Laurent Praz, what are we making today?

Laurent: We are making a salmon seasoned with Moroccan spices and grilled zucchini.

Emily: So, what are the spices that are in there, Moroccan spices?

Laurent: It is the—that is the spice they are using for in Morocco so it is a mix of spices which is cinnamon.

Emily: It smells a little cardamom.

Laurent: Yeah cardamoms, saffrons, turmeric and this grind to a very fine powder. We will season the fish, sear it and then we will bake it.

Emily: So chef, how do we start our Moroccan spiced salmon?

Laurent: First of all, we grind the spice. We pass them through o a fine sieve so we get the very fine powder and then we will put them in the very fine strainer and we will season only the top side of the salmon.

Emily: It seems like you are just lightly coating it.

Laurent: Yeah lightly.

Emily: You do not want it too much right?

Laurent: No, I just want to season it. You do not want to overpower it. And we’ll slice mayo lemons then we brush with a clarified butter. We are going to sear both on the plancha. So, we are searing the salmon on the spice and we are also searing the mayo lemon so we just put them on the plancha for a few second. And then we do the same for the salmon. We just want to caramelize the mayo lemon to get some flavor and we just want to toss the spices so it brings out the flavor.

So now, we are going to bake the salmon so we will use a convection oven and we bake the fish about 15 minutes at 120 degrees Celsius which is about 250 degree Fahrenheit with a little bit of steam which is about 20% so the fish will bake without drying so you can use a regular oven, so you can use a rack, put some water into it and you will have the same effect and about 15 minutes, the salmon will be medium rare.

Emily: So, while our salmon is in the oven, we have to prep our zucchini.

Laurent: Sure. So we slice them finely with a mandolin. We place them over a non-stick pan seasoned with olive oil and salt and we are going to bake them under the salamander.

Emily: What type of design are you trying to make?

Laurent: We are just covering the bottom of the plate and then we are going to place the fish on top so when you eat your fish then you can also bite even the vegetable lightly then you scoop to medium rare, you can feel the outside is hard but inside is still very soft. The center should be on 40-degree Celsius which is about 80-degree Fahrenheit which gives you a perfect medium rare. And you can smell the aroma.

Emily: You really can smell that spice.

Laurent: And you will smell also the salmon. So, the salmon goes straight over the plate.

Emily: So, you do not plate it with the lemon? The lemon is just to give it extra little stiffness.

Laurent: Yeah, just to give a flavor on the other side. So, one side is curled with spices and the other side is flavored with the lemon.

Emily: So chef, this looks beautiful, what are we having?

Laurent: We are having pacific salmon coat with Moroccan spices over zucchini.

Emily: Okay, let us try.

Laurent: Well, I think at first you taste the salmon which is very clean and folly and then you have the seasoning of the spices coming after. You also feel the mayo lemon on the other side which is a wonderful combination. So, you have there some which nest some acidity and some spiciness.

Emily: And you still get that little bite from the zucchini which I really enjoy.

Laurent: Okay.

Emily: Thanks so much for having us.

Laurent: Thank you.

Emily: Stay tuned to Behind the Burner where we give you the tips, tricks and techniques that are lighting the culinary world on fire.

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