Collard Wrapped Salmon Recipes

CRISPY SALMON WITH COCONUT-GINGER COLLARDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together turmeric and 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Season fish with salt; coat in turmeric mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add fish, skin-sides down; cook, undisturbed, until crisp, 4 minutes. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, skin-sides up; roast until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Wipe skillet clean; heat over medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, ginger, and shallot; cook, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in greens and cook, tossing, until just wilted, 1 minute.
• Add coconut milk, 3/4 cup water, and chickpeas. Season and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, 5 minutes. Stir in lime zest and juice. Serve over rice, with fish, cilantro, coconut, and lime wedges.

SALMON WRAPPED IN COLLARD GREENS WITH WALNUT-YOGURT-DILL SAUCE

Steps:

• If using a grill, spray it with cooking spray and preheat it over medium-high heat. Otherwise, wait to preheat a grill pan.
• Toast the walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then chop finely. Place 8 toothpicks in a dish of water and soak until ready to use.
• Cut the collard leaves away from each side of the spines and discard the spines. (You should wind up with 4 long pieces of collard green leaves.)
• Sprinkle the salmon with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Wrap each salmon fillet with 1 piece of collard leaf and secure with 2 toothpicks. If using a grill pan, spray it with cooking spray and preheat it over medium-high heat.
• Brush the salmon bundles lightly with about 1 tablespoon total of the oil. Grill the salmon bundles until the collard greens are tender and the salmon is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• While the salmon is cooking, make the sauce. Finely zest and then juice the lemon into a small bowl (about 3 tablespoons).
• Chop the dill and add it to the bowl along with the yogurt, walnuts, the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve the salmon drizzled with the sauce.

SALT-CRUSTED SALMON WITH COLLARD GREEN SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Mix the salt and egg whites in a medium bowl with your hands and incorporate until the mixture feels like wet sand.
• Spread 1 1/2 cups of the salt mixture into a thin layer, in the shape of the salmon, on a baking sheet. (You may need to spread the mixture diagonally on the baking sheet.)
• Arrange the lemongrass, ginger, chile, and cilantro over the bed of salt. Place the fish, skin side up, on the bed of salt and aromatics and pack the remaining salt mixture over and around the fish, molding it to the shape of the fillet, sealing the fish and aromatics inside.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The salt crust should have a warm golden color almost like sand and be rock hard. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Present the fish at the table within its salt crust, then, using a wooden spoon, strike the crust to crack it. Carefully lift pieces of the salt crust from the fish in large chunks. Peel back the skin, exposing the juicy, perfectly cooked fish. Divide the fish among plates. Discard the salt and aromatics.
• Serve with the salsa verde.
• In a food processor, pulse the collard greens, Brazil nuts, garlic, parsley and olive oil until thoroughly combined. You can use a flexible rubber spatula to scrape down the ingredients in the food processor to make sure everything mixes evenly.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the lemon zest and salt to taste (I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons). Stir in the vinegar just before serving.
• Adapted and excerpted from "Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day" by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Copyright © 2018 by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Beatriz da Costa.