Grilled Salmon w/Cherry Tomato Compote

The Grilled Salmon w/ Cherry Tomato Compote recipe was by far my favorite of the evening and deserves the first tomato recipe slot.

I can’t even explain in words how incredible this dish was.

Salmon Ingredients and Prep:
Four 6 ounce salmon fillets
Zest of 2 lemons
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Pepper

Coat the salmon well with olive oil, lemon zest and salt and pepper. Chef Terese explained that it’s o.k. to leave the skin on the salmon before grilling. She starts grilling with the skin side down. By the time you are done (10 minutes per inch thickness of fish) the skin will be crisp and just fall or peel right off.

Crappy photo due to the lack of light outside by the grill, but you get the idea.

Chef Terese’s assistant coated the grill with high heat cooking spray and then grilled the salmon over medium-high heat for 9 minutes per side. She thought the fish was just shy of an inch.

Chef Terese then grabbed the bowl of Purple Cherokee, Sun Gold and Green Grape heirloom cherry tomatoes to start the Cherry Tomato Compote.

Cherry Tomato Compote Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons good olive oil – she used Organic Apollo Extra Virgin Olive Oil – about $20/bottle.
2 Teaspoons minced garlic – about 2 cloves
2 Pints whole heirloom cherry tomatoes
2 Tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 Teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
Pinch of dried chili flakes
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives – If you don’t like kalamata olives,  you can use any type of olive.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan large enough to hold all of the tomatoes in a single layer. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5-7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to lose their firm round shape. Chef Terese actually used the back of a big wooden spoon to smash some of the tomatoes in the saute pan.

Add in the olives and chili flakes and season with sea salt and pepper.

Top the grilled salmon with several spoonfuls of the cherry tomato compote and garnish with fresh basil.

The dish was so good, it deserved two photos – different angles – hah! The medley of cherry tomatoes combined with the saltiness of the kalamata olives was out of this world amazing. People at our table that weren’t big salmon fans, raved on and on about the dish. The only bummer was that there weren’t pieces of bread on the table to soak up the sauce – yes, it was that delicious. This would be the perfect meal to cook for a small dinner party. You could also easily substitute chicken for the salmon if you aren’t a big fish/seafood eater.

Do you guys like when I post recipes from the cooking classes I take? I know they don’t have the same level of prep detail shots that my other posts have. In the 4 classes I’ve taken, only 1 other person has had a camera.  The chefs don’t mind at all, but it feels a little awkward to get photos of the prep stuff.  Once the table I’m sitting at finds out why I’m doing it, they encourage me to go up to the front, they make sure I get a good sample for the photograph and they kind of giggle that everyone else is done with their samples while I’m still trying to perfect the perfect angle for the blog photo. I also get photo tips from people, it’s pretty funny.