Grilled Tuscan Salmon and Marinated Asparagus
Grilled Salmon paired with marinated asparagus and rice make for a great late spring meal. This salmon recipe is the one I use for my grilling classes, it's a dry rub, though the rub can be a bit salty for some. The marinated asparagus is just something I tried and it worked so I'll share the recipe with you also. I used wild salmon for my grilling recipe, the only way to go in my opinion. I just don't like the idea of added color and the raising conditions of farmed salmon. Fresh wasn't available but I did get my hands on some very nice flash frozen wild Atlantic salmon. A beautiful filet large enough to feed the family.
First on the list was to get the asparagus marinated and I wanted to get some of the flavor into the asparagus as opposed to the usual brushed on coating we usually do. My thoughts lead to how long should I marinade; I couldn't have the asparagus go limpy on me before it hit the grill so I decided to slice the asparagus spears in half lengthwise first to expose the insides of my asparagus to the marinade thus shortening my marinading time.
I can't say the bay leaf made a difference in the taste of the marinated asparagus but after looking at the photos I can say it looked good and I'll leave it in the recipe as optional. Using a ziplock bag makes marinating a breeze, no clean-up necessary. Marinate the asparagus for approximately one hour.
This Tuscan rubbed grilled salmon recipe came from http://www.relish.com/recipes/tuscan-rubbed-salmon created by Chris Koetke and is top notch in my book. It does call for ground fennel but all I had was whole fennel seeds and just made do with those after a bit of pounding to release some of the flavors in the fennel seed. Follow the link to get his recipe.
Apply a liberal coating of Olive oil on both sides of the salmon then apply the Tuscan rub to the flesh side before grilling.
Of course I used my wonderful Island Grillstone for this cook. I have found it to be an indispensable accesory for all of my grill time and this was no exception. The Island Grillstone caused a wondeful crust to sear into the salmon filets. When the salmon was done I simply added the marinated asparagus to the Island Grillstone to cook. With-in 15 minutes I had a wonderful Tuscan rubbed grilled salmon and marinated asparagus recipe for the table.
- 1 1/ 2 pounds fresh asparagus
- ⅓ cup Balsimic vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp course black pepper
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 3 Bay leaves (optional)
- Wash and trim asparagus
- Slice each asparagus in half lengthwise
- Place all ingredients into a one gallon ziplock bag
- Mix well and refridgerate for one hour
- Grill on medium high heat using an Island Grillstone or a vegetable tray for the grill.
- Toss frequently while grilling
- Grill for approximately 10 minutes
How did the salmon turn out? I eat salmon often but seem to use the same seasoning each time. I guess I’m afraid to venture out with salmon because I’d be pretty upset if I ruined a potentially great piece of fish with a not so good seasoning. I can’t say that I’ve never rinsed or scraped the seasoning off after cooking…
I need to really look into the Island Grillstone, we love the edges of our salmon seared and I’m so over using foil.
Staci, the salmon was perfect! Great flavor, tenderness and moist. The Island grillstone never leaves my grill!
Gary
Just curious, where did you order your Island Grillstone?
The Island Grillstone is now available in the Cooking-Outdoors store.