Recipe Notes

Wine and Beer Pairing:

These wine pairing recommendations will also depend on your side dishes.

• Chardonnay - pair this richer white wine with buttered salmon.

• Riesling - this crisp, acidic wine pairs best with the richer flavor of salmon. A good Riesling will also give off a citrus lime flavor that complements salmon.

• Pinot Grigio is wonderful with most seafood, including salmon. This light white wine is best with salmon that doesn’t have a strong sauce, and it is excellent with lemon-based sauces.

• Pinot Noir is a great choice if you love red wine. It’s especially excellent with salmon prepared on the grill, and it can hold up to the strong flavor of this fish. This is one of the lighter red wines, so it pairs extremely well with foods like salmon.

• Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most versatile wines out there. With its crisp acidity, and tangy citrus flavors, it makes a great pair with salmon as it simply cuts through those healthy omega 3 oils drawing out the best flavors of the meat.

When it comes to beer, you might consider some of the following, again, depending your side dishes.

• Wittier (Belgian Wheat Beer) is simply a star with salmon. These beers have a tart edge, clean finish, and full orange, lemon and spicy flavours. Witbier lifts all those oily flavours from the Salmon from the carbonation, and balanced with hops and acidity.

• Saison or Berliner for sweet/milder recipes. La Blonde D'Esquelbecq Saison by Brasserie Thiriez or Saison Dupont by Brasserie Dupont, Tourpes, Belgium,

• Belgian witbier: Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, Blanche De Bruxelles, Avery White Rascal, Allagash White, Ommegang Witte.

• French biere-de-garde: Castelain Blonde, Lost Abbey Avant Garde (this is a harder style to find).

• Witbier is a light wheat beer spiced with orange peel and coriander. It's refreshing and palate-cleansing, and low in hops.

• Another possible match could be a traditional Belgian gueuze, like Lindeman's Cuvee Rene, Cantillon Classic Gueuze, or Oud Beersel Oud Gueuze Vielle. Gueze is tart and lemony, and highly effervescent.

Cost:

The cost for the ingredients used in this recipe was $13. The servings were about 5-6 ounces, enabling 8 servings; so this comes out to $2.25 a serving. Time and

Effort:

The preparations for this recipe is pretty darn fast and easy. Then you have about an hour wait, which is a great time to unwind, prepare your side dishes, and perhaps begin with a little wine or beer that will ultimately go with your meal on the table.

Alex Approved:

This recipe is Alex approved, though I have to admit I was a little surprised. Alex enjoys salmon, but typically in more straightforward recipe, as although this is simple, the result is rather sublime and sophisticated.

Leftovers:

This recipe is absolutely wonderful for leftovers. It is so good, in fact, you could prepare it in advance and refrigerate for serving later. The leftovers are versatile. The salmon is great as leftover for an entrée a couple of nights later, for use in an omelette, or on top of a bed of mixed greens for a lighter meal.

Health:

This is a very healthy meal. It is very low in saturated fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol and sodium. It includes no gluten or dairy. The only concern might be where the farmed salmon came from and what their practices are. You might have to be concerned about pesticides and herbicides from agricultural run-off, antibiotics, and heavy metals. If you are so inclined to look into this further, there probably is no better resource than Seafood Watch.