Healthy - Part 2

When I’m trying to eat healthier, aside from the obvious like drink more water and tea, and incorporate more vegetables and fruits into my diet, I also tend to focus on fish and chicken.  And in the warmer months, mostly fish.

A few nights ago, I created a nice summer dish that was simple and healthy and clean, and paired a good wine with it, for dinner on the porch.

Fresh salmon was rubbed in olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and cumin.  Cook it at 350F until that pale line starts to show on the side of the filet, and it’s done (you could also check it with a fork or butter knife to see if it’s flaking a bit but that would alter the presentation - I just look for that line).

The salsa was chopped mango and peach, and finely chopped red bell pepper and shallot, and seasoned with lime juice, mirin, and black pepper, and then spoon some of the salsa over the salmon, and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

On the side was fresh local Long Island sweet corn from the farm stand, and a “salad” of black beans, fresh campari tomatoes, chunks of avocado, and scallion, with a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic.

I paired dinner with the 2007 Stag’s Leap “Karia” Chardonnay from Napa - Stag’s Leap is a very good and reputable producer in California and a sort of American icon in terms of California wineries, in that they’ve been around quite some time and have proven their quality over and over again.  I’m not a big fan of heavily oaked California Chardonnays, so this one was excellent because I had stored it in the cellar for quite some time and lots of the oakiness had been tamed by now, leaving a relatively clean feel with some soft, round texture, and notes of baked apple, pear, a hint of butterscotch and just a touch of lemon.  I do love Chardonnay with salmon, and the pairing was excellent.

So there’s a healthy summer dinner - not cheap to make as fresh fish at a good quality and fresh produce cost some money these days, but it’s worth it to eat something healthy and delicious - at least I think it is.