Noelle Carter Food

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Make this now: Grilled salmon with lemon and dill

Grilled salmon with lemon and dill. (Noelle Carter)

It may only be April, but here in Southern California it sure feels like summer. So much so, I’ve been doing a lot of grilling — it’s just too nice outdoors to spend my time in a hot kitchen.

I love grilling salmon, particularly on a weeknight, because it cooks in almost no time. I can have dinner ready in about the time it takes to set the table. Put together a simple salad to go with it, and the meal is ready to go. Boom.

One of my favorite preparations are salmon fillets brushed with a lemon and dill spread. The spread is mayonnaise-based, which works wonders when you’re working over the grill, particularly with something as delicate as fish. If you’ve never grilled with mayonnaise, I suggest you try it — a flavored mayonnaise spread on everything from fish fillets to chicken — even steaks — adds flavor while keeping the meat from sticking to the grill. Almost like Teflon. Oh, and you can even use it on vegetables — I love grilling thick potato slices flavored with a parmesan cheese, garlic and rosemary spread — the potatoes cook up perfectly, without a sticky mess to worry about later. I explored the magic of grilling with mayonnaise for a story I did a few years ago. Check it out.

In the meantime, enjoy this dish:

GRILLED SALMON WITH LEMON AND DILL

Total time: 25 minutes. Serves 4

4 (6-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Zest of 1 small lemon, finely grated

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, for serving

  1. Pat the salmon fillets dry to remove any excess moisture.

  2. Make a lemon and dill spread: In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, dill, 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste, and several grinds of black pepper. Brush the spread over the salmon fillets on all sides.

  3. Heat a grill over medium-high heat until hot. Gently place the fillets on the grill rack, flesh-side down. Grill for about 6 minutes on 1 side, rotating partway through for good grill marks. Flip the fillets over and continue grilling, skin-side down until the fish is cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes more.

  4. Remove to a platter. Serve with lemon wedges.

Note: From Noelle Carter. Adapted from a recipe I created for the Los Angeles Times.