Broiled salmon with lemongrass and ginger

Grind the herbs and spices, mix with a little olive oil, spread on both sides of the salmon then broil the fish. Easy peasy. I have lemongrass, ginger and Holy basil growing in my garden and those were what I used.

If you think it’s too much work grinding the herbs and spices, or if you find it impractical to buy a bundle of lemongrass and large chunks of ginger when you need so little to cook a dish like this, there are minced lemongrass and ginger available in supermarkets. They are imported from Thailand and they come in jars. They might be more economical since you can store the rest in the fridge. Fresh lemongrass and ginger won’t keep long even with chilling.

This recipe serves one.

Ingredients:

one salmon fillet
a stalk of lemongrass
about 12 basil leaves (I recommend Holy basil or lemon basil or Thai basil)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 to 3 slices of ginger
salt
1 tbsp. of olive oil

Take only the light-colored portion of the lemongrass. Peel off the fibrous outer layers. Cut the soft portion into small pieces.

Grind together the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, basil leaves and salt. Use a mortar and pestle, a blender or a food processor — it’s up to you.

After grinding, the mixture should be a coarse paste. It can be a fine paste, if you like. Just process longer. Stir in the olive oil.

Spread the mixture on both sides of the salmon. Grill at 425^oF for about 10 minutes.

Serve with a salad, whatever your favorite is, and — this I highly recommend — sweet mangoes. Oh, the salmon, with its ginger-y and light citrus-y flavors, and the mangoes go so well together.