Monday, December 2, 2013

Salmon with Chraimeh Sauce


This post is going to be short and sweet! It's been a hectic schedule with the holidays. This poor blog is backed up like 95 South on a Sunday afternoon in Northern VA. 

Before bed, I wanted to share this quick snap shot of tonight's dinner: Salmon coated in delicious Chraimeh. Chraimeh is a combination of garlic, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cumin, caraway seeds, and sweet paprika blended together into a thick paste. Simply heat the paste in a sauce pan with lemon juice and tomato paste with a touch of black pepper and sugar. 

This sauce can be served with many main dishes and even as a dip for appetizers. We were expecting utter punishment in terms of the level of spice- the color of the sauce is a vibrant red and was beautifully intimidating. We were delightfully surprised at the restrained spice. It is full of flavor and a mature refinement; the hubby and I were cleaning the plate with bread. Fortunately, I doubled the amount of recipe in anticipation of such a situation! 

Best of all, this is a quick and easy recipe- perfect for a Monday. Spice up your night!

For the full recipe, I strongly encourage you to check out Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's book, "Jerusalem: A Cookbook."