Salmon #9: Blackberry Salmon

I am WAY behind posting salmon recipes for my Great Salmon Challenge... while I continue cooking them, I'm less diligent about posting them. In an effort to get back on track, here is a new recipe. The verdict? It's not our absolute favourite (and I don't think I'll crave it the way I regularly crave these Salmon Tacos), but it was a nice change and an excellent way to combine two very local foods. A solid 7 out of 10. 

Adapted from Sunny Anderson, TV Food Network

1 cup water
12 ounces blackberries (I used frozen ones from last summer and just let them thaw)
1 (1") piece ginger, peeled and sliced into coins
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 (8 ounce) skinless salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water, blackberries, ginger and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until berries break down, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve, using the back of a spoon to smash the blackberry pulp. Return blackberry mixture to the sauce pot, add sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by half (maybe a little more), about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (**This is important. The first time I made this recipe, I only simmered the sauce about 10 minutes and it was not strong enough to stand up to the flavour of the salmon- you could barely taste it!). The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and cool.

Place salmon fillets on an oiled baking pan. Brush fillets very lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Brush on half the blackberry glaze and bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes  Brush on remaining blackberry glaze. Turn oven to broil and broil another 3 to 4 minutes or until glaze is caramelized and the salmon tests done.

You can also reserve some of the glaze to drizzle over the salmon right before serving (set it aside before your brush touches the salmon), as shown in the top photo. The extra glaze worked as a great salad dressing when I served the salmon with spring greens.