Honey Garlic Salmon with Bok Choy and Wasabi Puree

Upstate in the East Village makes one of my favorite dishes; perfectly seared tuna on a bed of the most delicious wasabi mashed potatoes. I cook salmon at home regularly and it took me a very long time to find a recipe I love. When I set out to create a dish inspired by the one I love so much at Upstate, salmon seemed like the logical choice. Baked salmon is a dish I turn to when I’m in the mood for something light and I love the way the cauliflower puree makes this a truly clean meal. In fact, I liked the wasabi cauliflower puree much better than the wasabi mashed potatoes when testing out this recipe. The cauliflower perfectly absorbed the flavor of the wasabi and created a texture that was both fluffy and rich.

Although there’s a lot that I love about this recipe, seriously I could go on forever, what I’m most proud of is how easy it is on the cook. Almost everything in this dish does double duty from the marinade to the pan you cook in, which results in less cook time and, more importantly, less clean up.

Serves 4.

·      3 tablespoons butter

·      ½ yellow onion—diced

·      1-pound riced cauliflower

·      1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

·      1 teaspoon kosher salt

·      1 tablespoon wasabi paste

·      3 tablespoons garlic paste

·      1 tablespoon crushed ginger

·      2 tablespoons honey

·      2 tablespoons soy sauce

·      1-pound salmon—divided into four pieces

·      1 tablespoon flour

·      1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·      4 heads baby bok choy—cleaned and quartered

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.     Melt butter over medium heat in a large pan. Add diced onion and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes.

3.     Add riced cauliflower to the onion and stir until thoroughly coated. Add rice wine vinegar and water to the cauliflower and onion. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.     While the cauliflower cooks create the garlic honey marinade. In a small bowl combine the garlic paste, ginger paste, honey, and soy sauce. Stir until smooth and cohesive.

5.     Gently pat the salmon dry with paper towels then lightly dust the pink sides with flour. Shake to remove any excess flour and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

6.     Using a brush cover the salmon with half of the honey garlic marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade.

7.     Bake the salmon for 10 minutes.

8.     Once the cauliflower has cooked and softened—add it to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process for two minutes or until you’ve achieved a smooth, airy consistency. Add the wasabi paste and process for a few more seconds.

9.     Rinse the pan used for the cauliflower and return it to the stove over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once the pan is hot add the bok choy, remaining marinade, and 1/4 cup of water and cover immediately. Cook 1 minute. Uncover and toss, then cover and cook until bok choy is tender at the core, about 2 more minutes.

10.  Remove the bok choy from the pan and continue to cook the marinade until it has reduced by half and created a sauce.

11.  Plate the wasabi cauliflower in a thin layer, top with bok choy and salmon, then drizzle with the honey garlic sauce. Serve hot.