I’m basically of the persuasion that omega-3 fatty acids will do anything short of your laundry. They’re thought to play a role in areas as wide-ranging as weight-loss, cancer prevention, and mood improvement (I actually seek them out when I’m having a bad day. I swear it helps!). While the research for all those conditions is solid, the vast majority of published studies focus on the heart-health connection.
From that perspective, I was especially excited to see one of the largest to-date papers on omega-3’s effects on the human brain—15,000 people over 65 in seven developing nations—published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings? Adults who ate omega-3-rich fish and meat a few days a week were nearly 20 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who consumed none of either. Moreover, there was a gradient effect—the more omega-3 people ate, the lower their odds for dementia.
Since my own all-time favorite omega-3 source is salmon (which is especially high in the stuff), I thought I’d take this opportunity to give it a little shout-out.
My personal “crutch” recipe is so easy it’s embarrassing. I just put the fish in foil (if it’s a fillet, skin side down), douse it with more fresh-squeezed lemon than you’d think (this is critical to keep it from drying as it cooks) as well as a hefty amount of dill and white pepper, wrap it up, put it in the oven at 420 degrees, and then basically ignore it as I go about my day for the next 30 minutes or so. I love it this way, but there are about a million other routes to take.
To that end, I’m putting together a (probably ongoing) list of intriguing salmon (and salmon-related) recipe links. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing out on something. I’ll be sure to add it in!
Things to do with salmon:
*A very elegant-sounding Poached Salmon with Corn and White Wine Butter Sauce from Food and Wine.
*Then there’s always the salmon-yogurt thing. This recipe—Broiled Salmon with Citrus Yogurt Sauce—from Gourmet looks particularly good.
*Nothing but greatness can come from mixing salmon with lentils. Likewise, sun-dried tomatoes. Here, Martha Rose Shulman brings it all together in The New York Times with Oven Steamed Salmon with Lentils and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. Added bonus: She’s included the nutrition information, so you can feel especially good and informed about what you’re eating.
*Pondering a side-dish? I’ve been dying for an excuse to link to this: Mark Bittman’s incredibly comprehensive NYT list of 101 Simple Salads to make.
*Not too long ago, Slashfood asked Le Bernardin’s Aldo Sohm for five whites under $25 that go with salmon. For some reason, the Chablis he suggested got my attention. If I try it, I’ll report back.
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Camille
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Here’s my lazy guys approach–the easiest prep I know–I use this method often when I’m not in the mood to cook anything fussy. Cut a filet into one-inch cubes, or the approximation thereof depending on the size of slab you picked up, heat up some olive oil and butter in a pan, sautee for a few minutes (almost done but moist in the middle), then pour teriyaki into the pan, give it another few minutes while you roll the fish around in the sauce and it thickens up. There you go! Tasty, teriyaki salmon in 6 minutes. Oh, and you could be steaming some veggies on the side in the same amount of time to complete the meal. Enjoy!
After Bill found out he had type 2 diabetes he has been eating baked salmon nearly every morning for breakfast! He has a terrific memory!!!
Our grand daughter, Katy, really likes to share salmon with grandpa when she is visiting!
Sara, my own lazy-day salmon recipe is totally similar to yours, except instead of lemon and dill (I never put citrus on my seafood), I just sprinkle either fleur de sel, or chunky gray sea salt. Why it always tastes good? I don’t leave it in there too long….salmon is so great undercooked (and restaurants rarely get this right)!! Another way to go: slap it on a heated, olive-oiled cast iron pan, skin-side down. Then slam a sandwich press (which I happen to have) on top (if you don’t have a sandwich press you can use a 2nd heavy pan), and leave it alone for about 12 minutes (depending on the thickness). Seriously, no fidgeting!!! The skin comes out CRISP and the flesh, again, should be JUST undercooked, so good…
Don’t forget about canned salmon–while fresh wild salmon can be very pricey, and farmed salmon is not so healthy and downright awful ecologically (although I admit that I do sometimes buy it), you can get a can of wild Alaska salmon for a couple bucks at the grocery store. The canned fish aisle–sardines, salmon, mackerel, anchovies–is a great place to go for convenient and economical omega-3s. I work at home and base a lot of my at-home lunches on them. I just combine the salmon with mayonnaise and whatever seasonings I have around (capers, parsley, lemon juice is a good combo–or a judicious amount of hot cayenne pepper). It’s good on a bed of salad greens, or Finn Crisps, or Mestemacher bread…