Salmon with Zucchini Scales (plus two Asian-inspired sides)

Ok, so there's this idea I once had. I wanted to basically re-scale salmon with veggies, and naturally zucchini came to mind. So I gave it a whirl, screwed it up the first couple of times, then perfected it into the dish you will be reading about tonight. And might I add, I made a great side dish that we're going to talk about too.

Salmon with Zucchini Scales with Rice
serves 2


1 12-16oz salmon fillet
Sesame oil, a drizzle here, a drizzle there
Sriracha, to taste
1 zucchini, sliced thinly
Garlic powder
Chili powder
1/2 cup basmati rice
1/8 cup sesame seeds

Ok, so I use a mandolin to slice the zucchini, and here's about how thin they should be. Actually, if memory serves correctly, they could stand to be even a sliver thinner. If that makes sense? Maybe thinner sliver? Sliver thinner, THINNER SLIVER! Now I'm just confused.

Anyways, here's what I did:

And apparently I didn't wash my hand first, and didn't give a crap that there was a small SLIVER of zucchini.

Ok, so now, drizzle some sesame oil on your salmon fillet, put a few sprinkles of sriracha and use a basting brush to spread over the entire fillet. Then tile the zucchini on top of it. Like so:

Now, drizzle a bit more sesame oil on top:

Then, sprinkle with the garlic and chili powder, which is essentially sriracha in dried form but who cares, I'm kind of into the overkill these days. Carefully dab a basting brush (plastic if you have it) to spread the oil all over. It will look something like this:

Now pop that puppy in the oven, set to 375, for about 25, 30 minutes. In the meantime, start cooking your rice and then....

Asian-style Veggies
Serves 2


1/2 bag of bean sprouts
10 baby carrots, quartered lengthwise
1/3 - 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, SLIVERED
1 yellow squash, sliced and diced
Sesame oil

Put the veggies in a bowl, toss with some sesame oil and put in a skillet on medium high. If you don't like your veggies to have a bite to them, then saute the carrot SLIVERS first, then add the other veggies. And if you don't believe me about the sun dried tomatoes, then let go and dive into the foggy realm of faith, because damn, it's good. Anyways, cook your veg:

Now for the rice. Once your rice is cooked, grab your sesame seeds. Here's what I use:

Dump it in!

Now, lets put these three delicious delights together. First, remove your salmon:

I know it seems scary but just go for glory and cut that bad boy in half. It isn't even that hard! Look, few of the zucchini scales, if any, are super screwed up:

Now plate it up!

I have to be honest here, Todd and I were probably more blown away by the veggie mix than anything else. I've made this salmon dish dozens of times, but have never done this veggie combo. Add a sprinkle or two of sriracha and you've got a spicy little trio! Enjoy!