A very Alaska-feeling cousin of classic holiday beef Wellington, our salmon Wellington is a little lighter and brighter, but just as gorgeous and festive. It’s perfect for the center of a holiday table, especially if there are pescatarians coming for dinner.

The coolest thing about this recipe: It’s pretty simple and easy. Our frozen salmon is portioned already, so we made two smaller Wellingtons, but this recipe works just fine with one fat fillet. We painted the fish with Dijon and butter and then layered it in pastry with a rich, savory mixture of cream cheese, spinach and lemon zest. A little brush of egg yolk made it extra golden.

Because it’s so rich, the per-person portion is a little smaller than you might serve if you were grilling salmon. One hack for saving time on defrosting the pastry is to look for fresh pastry dough in the refrigerated section, which is sometimes available during the holidays. I found mine at Walmart. Instead of Tabasco, you might also try Barnacle’s Bullwhip Hot Sauce.

Salmon Wellington

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

About 24 to 28 ounces filleted salmon, skin and bones removed

1 1/2 tablespoons very soft + 1 tablespoon room temperature salted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cracks black pepper

1 small white onion, finely chopped, no more than 1 1/4 cups

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 1/2 cups cups frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup cream cheese, softened

Zest of one lemon

Two dashes of Tabasco sauce

1 13-ounce sheet puff pastry; if frozen, it should be fully thawed

One egg yolk, beaten

Method: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the soft butter, mustard, salt and pepper, stirring until combined. Set aside. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the rest of the butter and saute the onion until it begins to soften. Add garlic and saute until the onion is transparent and very soft. Turn off the heat, stir in spinach, cream cheese, zest and Tabasco until well combined. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Prep the pastry. Lay the pastry sheet on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or a silpat and roll it out so it’s about a quarter-inch thick. If you are using a full fillet, you will want to work with the whole or most of the piece.

If you are using two pieces of salmon, you’ll want to cut the pastry into two rectangles. To assemble Wellington, if you are using two pieces of fish, spread 1/3 to 1/2 cup of spinach mixture in the center of the rectangle of pastry, shaping it roughly to match the contours of your fish. Use more if you are doing a full fillet. Paint one side of the fish with the Dijon mixture and then lay it Dijon side down atop the spinach layer. Now paint the other side of the fish with Dijon mixture and cover with 1/3 cup layer of the spinach mixture.

Wrap the fish in the pastry dough the way you might wrap a burrito, folding in the narrower top and the bottom and then wrapping the sides into the center. Pinch the edges together and then carefully flip the pastry-wrapped fish over so that the seam is down. Crimp the edges, if desired, and decorate with a fish scale pattern, gently pressing the edge of a measuring spoon into the dough. Repeat with a second piece of salmon, if you are using two pieces. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

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This recipe is made for using only leftover salmon or adding cold rice or potatoes, depending on what you’re working with. I like using chives and chive blossoms from my garden when they are in season, but you can use any fresh herb. The trick, if you’re using rice or potatoes, is to let them fry for long enough to get a little crispy before you add the salmon. I use a little water to steam the eggs and watch the time to cook them to my desired doneness. I have used Frank’s hot sauce and Barnacle Foods Bull Kelp Hot Sauce with the sour cream, but I like Tabasco best because it’s a classic.

Salmon hash and eggs with Tabasco cream

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon butter

1 shallot, minced

1 1/2 cups leftover roasted potatoes, finely chopped, or leftover rice (optional)

3-4 cups leftover cooked salmon, bones removed, broken into bite-sized pieces

Garlic salt or other seasoned salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives, divided

Four eggs

Sea salt

2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon or more Tabasco or other hot sauce + more for garnish

2 chive blossoms, small flowers separated or 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs of your choice

Method: Melt a tablespoon and a half of butter in a large non-stick frying pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Saute the shallot until it is translucent and then add the potatoes or rice, if using. Do not disturb the rice or potatoes for 3 minutes or so, so the bottom begins to brown and crisp. Add salmon and saute, mixing with the rice or potatoes. Season with garlic salt and pepper and mix, scraping the pan bottom, for a few minutes until the salmon is warmed through. The fish should be further broken up and there should be some crispy bits from the bottom distributed throughout. Create four holes in the hash, so the bottom of the pan is visible in each. Divide the tablespoon of butter into four and melt a piece of butter in each hole. When the butter is melted, crack an egg in each hole and sprinkle it with salt. Now drizzle water over the pan and place a lid on it. Leave the lid on for roughly 2-3 minutes for an egg with a runny yolk. For over-medium, try roughly 6 minutes. For hard eggs, try about 8 minutes. While the eggs are cooking, stir the hot sauce into the sour cream. To serve, dot each egg with spicy sour cream, splash with extra hot sauce and sprinkle the pan with reserved chives and chive blossoms or herbs.

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I talked to him this week as I was eyeing my massive rhubarb plant for pie purposes because I was curious about Crisco, which my grandmother Lidia, from the opposite side of the family, used in her rhubarb pie crusts. He was emphatically anti. Too gross and chemically, he said. And, I wanted to know how to make my rhubarb pie gel better, as versions with flour and cornstarch hadn’t been great. Tapioca, he said. (He uses tapioca starch, but easier-to-find, quick-cooking tapioca works great, too.) And let it cool all the way. This is the key. I also read up on getting the pie’s sweetness right and decided it makes sense to cut it with strawberries. I learned a hack involving first, macerating the filling in sugar to release its juices, and second, adding a layer of sugar under the filling. And, I applied another general pie trick: I baked it on a preheated sheet pan to avoid soggy bottom. The result was, I must say, the very best rhubarb pie I have every made. Try it!

The Best Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

Two salted butter pie crusts (Here’s a GF crust recipe, too.)

3 cups chopped rhubarb

2 cups chopped strawberries

1 cup + ¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

¼ cup quick-cooking tapioca

1 egg, beaten

Sugar for sprinkling on top

Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put a parchment-covered sheet pan on the rack to heat. In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, 1 cup sugar and orange juice to macerate for at least 15 minutes. Add the tapioca to the fruit and stir to distribute evenly. While the fruit sits, roll out your pie crusts. Press the first crust into the pie pan. Sprinkle the additional ¼ cup of sugar onto the interior bottom of the crust-covered pan. Pour in the fruit. Cover with a second crust. (If you want to make a lattice crust, here’s a video tutorial.) If you aren’t making a lattice crust, prick the crust with a knife. Brush the crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on the hot sheet pan for 55 minutes or a little longer, until the crust is golden and, importantly, you see the filling bubbling out and starting to gel. The pie will set as it cools. Allow it to cool completely before serving. 

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Salmon loaf recipes date back to when the Alaska Packers Association (APA) introduced canned salmon to home cooks at the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904. The APA cookbook from that year, “How to Eat Canned Salmon,” contained not one but three salmon loaf recipes. All of them combine canned fish with a “panade,” or rich batter made of cracker or breadcrumbs, milk or canned milk, and eggs. The loaves are steamed or baked and served cold. Same for “Out of Alaska’s Kitchens,” another central part of the state’s spiral bound culinary canon. (That book, from about 50 years later, actually has four versions of loaf—all served hot.) The loaves appealed to Catholics looking for meatless meals during Lent, and thrifty Depression-era cooks because canned salmon was a cheaper meat.

This recipe riffs on APA’s “Salmon Loaf #3”—which is a very basic salmon meatloaf with eggs, breadcrumbs, and some chopped parsley. Only I didn’t use canned salmon—though you could. I used some older frozen salmon I had and tossed in a little smoked salmon to add flavor. You can skip the smoked fish if you don’t like it or don’t have any. The recipe is pretty forgiving and can tolerate a little more or a little less fish, depending on what you’re working with. Compared to the old school versions, I upped the fat, using cream instead of milk, along with melted butter. I added a little lemon zest and Parmesan cheese for salt and tanginess, along with hot sauce for vigor.

I landed on a recipe that is totally delicious—kind of like eating a slab of smoky, rich salmon burger with a buttery, crumbly top. Though it’s easy, it could work for a special occasion if you’re serving pescatarians. I highly recommend dunking a bite or two in tartar sauce.

New school old school salmon loaf

Ingredients:

16 −20 ounces frozen salmon thawed, bones and skin removed, finely chopped

¼ −⅓ cup smoked salmon finely shredded

¼ cup shallots very finely diced

1½ cups Saltines finely crushed, + 2 tablespoons for topping the loaf

½ cup Parmesan cheese grated, + 2 tablespoons for topping the loaf

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 eggs, beaten

¾ cup cream

3 tablespoons melted butter + more for the pan

1 −2 teaspoons Frank’s hot sauce or other vinegar-based hot sauce

2 teaspoons fresh dill or parsley minced, for serving (optional)

Slices of lemon for serving

Tartar sauce for serving

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 350° F degrees. Butter 5×9-inch loaf pan. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a fork, working to break up any big salmon pieces. When the mixture is well combined, spread it into a loaf pan and sprinkle with cracker crumbs and Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes until firm and crispy on top. Serve immediately with fresh herbs, lemon slices, and tartar sauce.

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For this meal, I use a jar of red Thai chili paste, which you can get at all major grocery stores, though Asian groceries have a better selection. I also use regular coconut milk. You could, I guess, use light coconut milk, but it isn’t as delicious and is more of a broth than a sauce. Fresh ginger brings a kick, fish sauce adds salt and funk, shallots give the poaching liquid depth and lime brings brightness. If you happen to have a line on lime leaves, which you can get at some Asian groceries, you could throw in a couple in lieu of zest. Thai basil is also a specialty grocery item, but you can use regular basil and do fine. I use 2 teaspoons of curry paste for mild to medium heat, but some of the elders in my family think it verges on too spicy, so adjust accordingly.

The real beauty of this dish comes when you plate the halibut up with crunchy peanuts, herbs and chili crisp. A version of chili crisp can be found on the table at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. It’s sold in a little jar at most large grocery stores and there are many varieties at Asian groceries like Midtown New Sagaya. It’s also called “garlic chili crunch oil” or “chili crunch.” Usually, it’s made with oil, red chilis and crispy shallots, though ingredients vary and some versions include nuts or sesame seeds. It is totally worth an extra trip to have it in your pantry. I use it all the time to spice up fried eggs or smear on salmon before I grill it.

Thai-style white fish curry

Serves 4 or 5

Ingredients:

About 1 1/2 pounds halibut or cod, portioned into four to five servings, skin removed

Salt and pepper

2 large or four small shallots, minced

1 tablespoon neutral oil like avocado or canola

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 13.5-ounce can regular coconut milk

2 teaspoons red curry paste (use less if you are sensitive to spice and more if you like the heat)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Zest of one lime

1/4 to 1/2 cup water or chicken stock, optional

1/4 cup Thai or regular basil, julienned

Rice, enough for four servings, Thai jasmine or Calrose

For garnish:

Chopped cilantro, chopped basil, lime wedges, chopped peanuts, chili crisp

Method: Start the rice, cooking it according to package directions. Pat fish dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until transparent and soft. Add ginger, saute until fragrant. Add coconut milk. Stir in curry paste until well combined, add fish sauce, brown sugar and lime zest, bring to a gentle bubble. Slide the fish into the curry. The liquid should come at least halfway up the fish portions. If it doesn’t, add water or stock and return to a gentle simmer. Cook 3 to 4 minutes and then turn the fish over, cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes or until the fish is almost cooked through, turn one more time. Remove from heat. Stir in basil. Allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. The fish should continue to cook. Serve with rice and extra sauce. Garnish with herbs, lime wedges, chopped peanuts and chili crisp.

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But, I did figure out how to hit all the necessary pie notes — the inky blue, sweet/tart filling, the flaky, salty crust — with a smaller-volume pastry. Sure, a normal person might make a little tart or galette, but, as a child of the ‘80s, naturally I got way into making oversized Pop-Tarts.

If we’re going to be technical, this recipe might be more accurately called a Pop-Tart-inspired slab pie, because the dough is too flaky and delicate for you to pick up the whole face-sized thing and shove it in your mouth (sorry). To serve it, I slice it into about six squares and serve them with vanilla ice cream. My secret to a flaky crust is to use vodka instead of water, but it makes the crust really delicate, so if you want a little more sturdiness, use water. I also use a food processor to make the crust. Crust made by hand can also be a little more resilient.

You don’t have to use all blueberries either. I have supplemented bluebs with store-bought blackberries and frozen black currants. You can also do a red-filling version with raspberries, pitted sour cherries, currants, thin-sliced rhubarb, or a combo of all those, just adjust the sugar accordingly. I used 1/4 cup of sugar with my wild blueberries because I like a pretty tart pie. Oh, and I didn’t use sprinkles, which is of course customary on Pop-Tarts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.

Big wild blueberry Pop-Tart

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white flour

1 1/2 cups salted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

2-4 tablespoons ice-cold vodka or water

3 1/2 cups wild berries, drained of juices

1/4 to 1/2 cup white sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Juice of half an orange

One beaten egg

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and butter into a meal. With the processor running, drizzle in vodka or water until the ball coalesces. Dump the dough onto parchment and press it into a rectangle about the size of a greeting card. Wrap it in the paper and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

Carefully stir berries with sugar, cornstarch and juice of half an orange, until the berries are all covered. They should be relatively intact and on the dry side. Roll the dough out on a large sheet of parchment paper into a rectangle that’s about 11 by 15 inches. Once you’ve rolled it out, stick it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to make it easier to handle.

Pull the dough sheet out of the freezer. With the long edge of the dough rectangle facing you, gently pull the left side of the dough off the parchment and fold the dough in half like a book. Use a knife to trim the rough top, bottom and side edges of both sheets to leave you with crisp edges and two matching rectangles. Spoon the berries, leaving any liquid in the bowl, onto what will be the bottom rectangle, leaving about a half inch of space around all the edges. Cover the berries with the top dough sheet. Gently roll the edges in, all the way around the rectangle, and then press them together with a fork. Poke holes with your fork to vent the top of the tart and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 28 minutes, until golden.

Whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice into a frosting. When the tart is cool, spread it on, avoiding the edges. Allow it to set up for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with ice cream.

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In summertime, a person like me might get invited to walk over to sit at the long table that extends into the living room for a fish dinner. It’s the sort of menu you understand if you’re from here: grilled or baked fish, rice, salad, bread and, specific to her house, always broccoli with hollandaise sauce.

It was at one of these dinners that I tasted this brilliant, addictive halibut with a lemon-wine sauce and buttery cracker crumbs. When I asked for the recipe, she led me to a spiral binder and paged to an ancient piece of notebook paper where instructions had been written cryptically in pen. It was the sort of old recipe that falls right in line with Alaska’s cooking traditions from the last 100 years because it uses wild food plus refrigerated goods that keep, and pantry staples.

“It’s marvelous!” my aunt said. “You’ll eat it the next day for breakfast!”

She’s not wrong. That’s if there’s some left over.

We should also have some real talk about halibut. If you get one, you end up with A LOT. And then you have to figure out how to eat it all. And inevitably you get tired of it and run out of recipes and ask yourself if you even like it. But now you’ve got one more halibut trick up your sleeve. Allow it to help you to get closer to the bottom of the freezer.

A few notes. Ritz crackers are essential — no other cracker is as good. Fresh lemon juice is also essential. You can also throw in some zest, if you’re a lemon enthusiast. You may, if you’d like, substitute a couple of cloves of grated garlic for the powder, but the garlic then becomes more of a main flavor player, so it’s more of a lemon-garlic cracker halibut. Try not to overcook the fish. I write this so much, I’ve considered making T-shirts. I recommend using a thermometer and pulling it from the oven at about 130 degrees. It continues to heat on the plate. But use your judgment — thinner fish cooks much faster and a big granddaddy halibut will take a little longer. Also key: Don’t put the acid into the sauce until you’ve taken it off the heat and allowed it to cool slightly.

Aunt Barbara’s lemon-cracker crumb halibut

Serves 4, generously

Ingredients:

2 cups, or two sleeves of Ritz crackers, crushed

About 2 pounds halibut, cut into four single-serving portions, patted dry

Salt and pepper

1 stick of salted butter

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons dry white wine

Juice of one lemon (roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons)

Parsley or other chopped herbs for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the cracker crumbs in an even layer on the bottom of an ungreased baking dish that can fit all the fish. Lay the halibut portions on the crackers. Season well with salt and pepper. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with the garlic powder and flour, whisking constantly, until it’s well combined and just beginning to bubble. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and wine. The sauce should thicken. Spoon the sauce over the fish and slide into the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it’s opaque at the center and measures 130 degrees on a thermometer. Allow to rest 7 to 10 minutes before sprinkling with garnish and serving.

The post Your halibut needs this vintage Alaska recipe for lemon sauce with buttery cracker crumbs appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

First published in Edible Alaska Summer 2024. Subscribe!

Sourdough crumpets

Yields 5–6 crumpets

Ingredients:

• Neutral oil
• 1 cup unfed starter or sourdough discard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• Cooking spray
• Butter

Method: Rub some oil on your cast iron and put it over medium-low heat to let it heat up.

Put your starter in a small bowl and stir in sugar, salt, and soda. It should bubble up and quickly double in size, growing to be about 3–3½ cups. Spray three Mason jar rings with cooking spray and set them in the pan for your crumpet molds, lip side down. Melt a small pat of butter in each. (You have to repeat this step for your next batch—greased molds are key.) Your cast iron should not get too hot—you’re looking for a heat you can hold your hand over for a few seconds without burning yourself, maybe 300–325° F.

Using a ¼ cup measure, pour the batter into the hot forms. Cook until many of the bubbles have popped and the batter looks like a tiny cratered moonscape with only a few raw spots. Using a stout spatula, flip mold and crumpet. Once it’s flipped, you should be able to easily remove the mold. If it sticks on the edge, you might need to coax it out gently with a butter knife. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the second side, until it’s golden.

Serve immediately with butter and jam.

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These days the McD’s menu board advertises that the sandwich is made of Alaska-caught pollock, which is harvested in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Though pollock is among the most common fish Americans encounter — it’s used to make fish sticks, patties and surimi, among other things — it isn’t very easy to find it unprocessed in grocery stores. Instead of pollock, I’ve been using Alaska or Pacific cod, which is available in most freezer sections or at fish counters. It’s important to use Alaska/Pacific cod and not other types of cod, because you need a relatively thin filet so it cooks through when you fry it. You can also use halibut, so long as your portions are not more than about an inch thick.

A note on fish-counter cod filets — they are sometimes very skinny, as in quite long, but not wide enough to cover a bun. In that case, you can make a sandwich with two thin portions, side by side. As for tartar — the internet is full of recipes for homemade tartar using lemon, mustard, mayo and relish — it’s easy to whip up your own or use your favorite store-bought version. If you aren’t a tartar fan, plain mayo or mayo with a little hot sauce swirled in works too. And, if you are not an American cheese fan, swap in some cheddar. A pound of cod, depending on its shape, is certainly enough for four sandwiches, and can sometimes make enough for five. If the filets are extra thin, you can stack them on the bun.

Fried Alaska cod “filet-o-fish” sandwiches

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 eggs

1 cup breadcrumbs, panko or regular or a mix

1 pound, or roughly two filets, Alaska cod

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup tartar sauce, homemade or store-bought

4 squishy white burger buns, warmed

4 pieces American cheese

4 sandwich sized pieces of butter lettuce, washed and dried

Method: Make your breading station. With a fork, whisk the salt into the flour and then pour the flour mixture on a plate big enough for one piece of fish. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them. Pour the breadcrumbs on to a small plate. Prepare a “landing spot” for the breaded fish on a parchment-lined cutting board. Line up the flour plate, the egg bowl, the breadcrumb plate and the landing spot. Now, bread the fish. Dredge each portion of the fish in the flour and salt. Dunk in the egg. Roll in breadcrumbs until well covered. Set aside. Once the fish is breaded, place the oil in a medium deep frying pan or cast iron skillet on the stove on a medium flame and allow it to heat up. Test the oil temperature by dropping a few breadcrumbs in. When it’s time to fry the crumbs should begin to sizzle and bubble immediately. Cook the breaded fish in the hot oil, working in batches, 2-3 minutes a side, until each side is a rich golden brown. Move to a paper towel-covered sheet pan or cutting board, immediately lay a piece of cheese on top of each hot piece of fish. If the pieces are skinny and you plan to use two for a sandwich, group them and cover the group with cheese. Tent loosely with foil. Assemble the sandwich. Spread tartar on the insides of the top and bottom buns. Layer cheese-covered fish, a piece of butter lettuce and the top bun. Enjoy immediately.

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The sushi bake is basically a deconstructed, cooked salmon sushi roll, made in a casserole pan, that you can eat in a big umami-packed pile or, if you want to do it up, scoop into snack-sized nori sheets and eat with your hands like a lettuce wrap. You can even dress it with sushi vegetables like cucumber, avocado and jalapeno for a supercharged salmon sushi experience. If you are doing the make-your-own mini sushi roll version with nori, it works great as an appetizer.

There are lots of recipes for sushi bakes online. Many use crab or surimi. The ones for salmon are written by people who aren’t from here, who are probably eating farmed Atlantic fish or canned pink salmon and they say to cook it so long it gets dry as a bone. This recipe is written for frozen red salmon and I try not to cook it to death. We should also talk about mayonnaise. Mayo is the best friend of springtime frozen fish, but for this recipe it’s important that you use a specific Japanese variety, Kewpie brand, to get the right salt and bite. You can find the stuff at just about every grocery in town and Costco often has it in a 2-pack. There is some controversy in the short form content world about the addition of cream cheese in the mix. I tried it with and without and adding a little cream cheese is just better. Furikake, if you’re not familiar, is a Japanese rice seasoning made from seaweed and sesame seeds. That’s also available at most grocery stores and, if you’re lucky, you might find one of a couple local versions made with Alaska kelp.

Salmon Sushi Bake

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the rice layer:

1 cup medium grain calrose white rice, rinsed until the water runs clear

1 tablespoon furikake

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Canola oil spray

For the salmon layer:

One piece of red salmon, about 1 to 1 ¼ pounds, pin bones removed

1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise + more for topping

1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon furikake or sesame seeds

Sriracha sauce

2 green onions, diced

Possible garnishes:

Snack-sized toasted nori sheets

Sliced avocado

Cucumber matchsticks

Sliced jalapeno

Microgreens

Pickled ginger

Wasabi

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a square, 8-by-8 inch casserole pan with cooking spray. Cook the rice, according to package directions, in a rice cooker or on the stove top. While the rice is cooking, prepare the other components. Place the fish on a small parchment-lined sheet pan and drizzle with soy sauce. Bake it for 7 minutes. It will be very rare. Keep the oven on, you’ll use it again. Remove the salmon skin from the fish and flake the meat into a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and softened cream cheese. Stir gently until mixture is combined, but don’t overmix. In another small bowl, combine rice vinegar, sugar and salt. As soon as the rice is done, stir vinegar mixture and furikake in with the rice. Press the seasoned rice into the casserole pan to form the bottom layer. Add the fish on top in an even layer. Lash the top of the casserole with mayonnaise and sriracha on the diagonal and sprinkle it with furikake or sesame seeds. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the fish reaches desired doneness. Garnish with green onions. If desired, serve with small nori sheets and, if desired, other sushi vegetables, like avocado, jalapeno, microgreens, pickled ginger and wasabi.

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