Blackened Salmon Sandwich finished with Dijon Mustard. Easy and healthy and a flat out delicious salmon sandwich recipe.
I’ve never attempted to blacken anything simply because of a couple of bad experiences with poorly executed dishes at restaurants. One dish that sticks in my mind is a salmon filet that was seared and served with a dark hard crust that, well, tasted like a burnt dark hard crust. It was terrible.
When I bought my first copy of a Chef Paul Prudhomme cookbook, I learned that the blackening technique is simply a blend of spices that colors the meat dark when seared. Loving Cajun food, you bet, I’ll give blackening another chance. For this weeks Salmon Saturday, I decided to make a Blackened Salmon Sandwich.
I bought only one salmon filet for the two of us, and chose one that was pretty thick. I slathered the top of the filet with melted butter and then rubbed in my favorite chili powder. I sprinkled on a small amount of Cajun seasoning going sparingly on it because the brand I have is very salty. Bringing my cast iron skillet to hot, I poured in some olive oil. When the olive oil began to smoke, I placed the salmon filet in the skillet, skin side down and cooked until half done. I slid the meat off and removed the skin from the skillet and flipped the filet, searing until nice and flaky.
Meanwhile, I cut off a chunk of a baguette and sliced it into pieces that would make a small but tall sandwich. I brushed the slices with butter and broiled until toasty.
I finished the sandwich with some Dijon mayonnaise, which was simply some mayo with Dijon, minced onion and a squeeze of lemon, which we thought was a perfect for the cajun flavors. Sided with some stove-top White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, it was a great little dinner.
- 1 salmon filet
- 1 baguette cut and sliced for sandwiches
- 2 T . melted butter
- 1 t . chili powder
- 1/2 t . Cajun spice or more to your taste
- 2 T . olive oil
- for the Mayonnaise:
- 3 T . mayonnaise
- 2 t . minced sweet onion
- 1 1/4 t . Dijon mustard
- a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- Butter lettuce for sandwich
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Coat salmon filet with melted butter. Rub in the chili powder and sprinkle on the Cajun Seasoning. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and heat until smoking. Turn the heat down a little and add the salmon filet, skin side down and cook until half done. With a spatula, slide the meat off the skin, remove skin from skillet and flip the salmon filet over and cook until tender and flaky.
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For the mayonnaise. In a small bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
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Brush the bread slices with butter and broil until toasty. Smear both sides of bread with the mayonnaise, divide the salmon filet in half, top each sandwich with a leaf of butter lettuce.
- 2 C . elbow macaroni
- 2 T . butter
- 2 T . flour
- 1 C . milk
- 1/2 C . water from cooked pasta
- 1 C . white cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 t . Dijon mustard
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Cover elbow macaroni with water and cook to package directions, drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the water the pasta was cooked in. Return the pasta to the pan that it was cooked in.
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In the meantime, in a saucepan, melt the butter. Add flour and stir for two minutes. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly until thickened. Use the pasta water to bring to consistency that you like. Add cheese and stir until it melts. Stir in the Dijon mustard until blended and pour over the macaroni.
Blackened Salmon Sandwich…It’s What’s for Salmon Saturday.
