Hemp Crusted Salmon w Lotus Root, Yuzu Ponzu

A True Food Kitchen Exclusive! This is not your everyday salmon entrée. Not only is the wild salmon in this recipe enhanced by a crunchy coating of nutty hemp seeds, but it is served atop a bed of lotus root and Chinese broccoli soaked in an exotic yuzu sauce. Dinner can be decadent without sabotaging your healthy diet! Yuzu, like most citrus, is a rich source of vitamin C and other antioxidants. Yuzu can be a valuable source of "C" in colder climates, because it is more cold-hardy than other forms of citrus fruit.

Ingredients:

SALMON
6 5-ounce portions of wild king or wild sockeye salmon
2 tablespoons hulled hemp seeds

VEGETABLES
1 pound chinese broccoli, cleaned & trimmed
1 piece lotus root, peeled & sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 pound snap peas, cleaned & trimmed

SAUCE
1 cup mushroom or vegetable stock
1/4 cup yuzu juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 pinch red chili flakes (optional)

Instructions:
For the salmon:

• Season the salmon with salt and pepper and sprinkle with hemp seeds.
• Use a non-stick pan & coat with a small amount of olive oil.
• Working in batches to get good sear on the salmon portions, gently sear the salmon pieces on both sides and remove.
• Place on a baking sheet. Bake the salmon at 350 degrees for 12-18 minutes or until desired doneness.

For the vegetables:

• Place all vegetables in a steamer pan and steam for 4-5 minutes or until bright green. They should be tender, but still a little crisp.

Food as Medicine: Hemp seeds are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, highly digestible protein, and minerals including phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese. They are also gluten-free, so will not trigger symptoms of celiac disease.

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Comments

[John La Puma MD]

I think this sounds fantastic: it shows how Dr Weil is pushing the fine-dining boundaries of food-as-medicine, and offering ingredients that have real value and are special in the restaurant kitchen. Bravo!

We're trying to do something like this too, so people can cook recipes like these with more common ingredients in their own homes: check out ChefMD

Since this salmon recipe is offered as "Culinary Medicine" too, I might not "get a good sear" on the fish. Searing animal protein creates heterocyclic amines, which are carcinogenic...and dramatically reduced with a marinade of almost any kind.

Keep up the great work!
John La Puma, MD
http://drlapuma.com

Terrific Arizona Central food writer Carey Sweet wrote a piece in January 2010 about Dining Trends which mentions immunity as a Food Trend...who would have thought! From Epicurious too...