Alex and I spent a rainy Saturday making lunch at Rick’s new house, after he got back from Lincoln Park Boat Club’s rowing practice.  Rick is a big fan of fish, and was happy to be a part of this series of salmon recipes.  He picked his favorite style of salmon preparation – tartare – and we planned a menu.  I offered to pick up whatever vegetable looked great at the Green City Farmers’ Market and Rick elected to prepare a Passover-friendly dessert.

On Saturday morning, I strolled to the market with my friend and teammate, Alli Whitaker, and we enjoyed samples and made our selections.  I bought greens and fresh asparagus; Michigan asparagus just came into season, so now is the time to buy or go to Michigan to pick some!

A buffalo in a rain coat outside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Alex and Stella

5 t wasabi powder mixed with 3 t water to make a wasabi paste

For maximum spiciness, I inverted the wasabi paste bowl for a minute

Fresh Michigan asparagus from the Green City Market

High-quality salmon from Mariano’s

I put together a marinade for our raw salmon (not pictured: lemon and shallots)

Cutting the salmon into cubes

The salmon marinated for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving

I bought fresh greens at the Green City Market, and topped those off with Rick’s homemade vinaigrette

Marinated salmon, ready to serve

Roasted aparagus with a sprinkling of shredded parmesan

Our farmers’ market fresh lunch

The spread

Rick baked a Passover-friendly almond cake!

After cooking lunch, we hung out with Stella (left) and Rudy (right)

We picked the perfect Saturday for afternoon naps

Recipe

Salmon Tartare and Spring Vegetables – serves 3 to 4

Neither Rick nor I had ever made salmon tartare, so we went online and found a recipe for “Wasabi-Infused Salmon Tartare” from HalfHourMeals.com.  I simplified the marinade used for that recipe, based on my flavor preferences and which ingredients we had on hand.

You will need:

1. 1 rounded t wasabi paste or powder to make paste
2. 3 T fresh lemon juice, or about 1/2 lemon
3. 3 T soy sauce
4. 2 T rice wine vinegar
5. 1/2 T finely chopped shallot
6. 1/2 t ground ginger
7. 1 to 1 ½ lbs of high-quality salmon
8. 1 bunch of asparagus
9. 1 T olive oil
10. fresh ground black pepper, about 1 t
11. about 6 C greens
12. 3 T nuts – we used slivered almonds and shelled pistachios
13. 1 C blueberries
14. balsamic vinaigrette to dress salad

Steps:

1. First, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for roasting asparagus.
2. Add 3 t water to 5 t wasabi powder, and stir to combine.  Invert your bowl for one minute to increase the wasabi spiciness.  If you have pre-made wasabi paste, add one t to a small mixing bowl, and save more for serving with your entree.
3. Mix in lemon juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, shallot and ginger with the wasabi paste.
4. Remove the skin from your salmon, and chop the filet into small cubes (we went with about one cubic centimeter).  Add salmon to a non-metallic mixing bowl, and stir in half of your marinade.  Taste salmon to determine if you want to add more marinade; you want some of the salmon flavor to come through.  Cover salmon bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.
5. Next, wash asparagus and snap off the dried ends.  Spread out stalks on a cookie sheet, and drizzle with olive oil.  Add fresh pepper and roll to coat.  When your oven has reached 450 degrees, add your asparagus pan and time for about 7 to 10 minutes.  Pencil-thin asparagus should be fully roasted in 7 minutes, whereas really thick stalks could take up to 15 minutes.  Pierce with a fork to check readiness.
6. While asparagus is cooking, prepare your simple salad of washed greens, nuts and berries.  Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and toss to coat.  We topped our salad with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese before serving.
7. When asparagus is ready, transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with fresh parmesan.
8. We served our salmon with a dollop of extra wasabi paste on the side, and with just a touch of Thai ginger salt on top for extra crunch and salty flavor.

Source: “Wasabi-Infused Salmon Tartare by Rachel2 – HalfHourMeals.com.”HalfHourMeals.com. Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.