Spinach Dijon Salmon

It’s baaaack…Just when you thought we were all done with farmed Atlantic salmon, now comes this: As of June 8^th, New Brunswick-based Cooke Aquaculture officially became the first company to offer Eco Certified farmed Atlantic salmon in North America. (The announcement coincided with World Oceans Day.) While the certification of seafood is a growing trend (see: OceanWise, SeaChoice), the certification of farmed seafood – in particular salmon – represents the next frontier of sustainable seafood for a global client hooked on the ocean’s bounty.

Certified under IFQC, an internationally-recognized organization, the eco label requires Cooke Aquaculture to meet stringent standards in five key areas: Marine environment, feed, energy, water use, packaging and waste.

The Canadian-owned aquaculture company sells more than 115 million pounds of salmon each year across Canada and the USA. I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan to. And if what they say is true (I'll be doing some Nancy Drew type research), this could be huge.

What about you? Have you given up on farmed Atlantic salmon? Either way, here’s one of my favourite salmon dishes from my first cookbook.

SPINACH DIJON SALMON

(serves 4)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Ingredients:

4 salmon filets, about 6 oz. each

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1 or 2 lemons)

1 bunch spinach leaves, washed and dried

1/2 bunch fresh dill, chopped

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 egg white, whipped to stiff peaks

Method:

Marinate salmon filets in lemon juice for 20 minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, cook spinach until it’s soft, drain well, squeeze out excess water with your hands, then set aside.

When the marinating time is almost up, mix together chopped dill, mayo, Dijon, Worcestershire, salt and pepper, then carefully fold in the stiff egg white.

Remove salmon filets from lemon juice and lay them on a baking sheet, skin side down. Place some cooked spinach over the salmon then evenly spread the mustard mixture over each spinach-covered filet. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. The topping will poof a bit and brown.