Hawaiian Salmon with Five Fruit Salad: Recipe

I know there are people that don't care for fish - I'm not one of them, obviously, but I know those people are out there. If you can manage to try a piece of fish, I strongly urge you to try this one. Of course, salmon is one of those foods that I consider a healing staple - like chicken soup. It's rich with vitamin D, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, but believe it or not, it has cholesterol. Clearly that's not restorative, but the iron rich skin (which can be eaten, mind you) makes this a class-act meal!

I saw this gorgeous salmon fillet - slightly more than 1 lb. - and the price was right. I've gone through the wild, organic, Scottish, etc. and they all have their merits but I would advise you to speak to the fish monger before purchasing. While they're all good, sometimes it's simply about taste. He/She can give you a good explanation as to the distinct characteristics of each. For this recipe I used plain old Atlantic Salmon.

I made this marinade before leaving for work today - very quick, indeed (I was in a hurry) and left it, meat side down, in the liquid until I was ready to cook it. It was awesome! The flavor was exactly what I had hoped for - the marinade formed a slight bit of crystallization on top of the fish during cooking, particularly on the ends. So the flavor was really rich on those parts. My husband and I actually split this - we gave the kids mac and cheese (don't tell anyone!). But the kids did eat the five fruit salad I made and couldn't seem to get enough.

Hawaiian Salmon with Five Fruit Salad

1 lb. salmon fillet

Marinade
2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 small scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. minced, fresh, ginger
1 Tbsp. barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place salmon, skin side down, in a large bowl and pour the marinade over the flesh. Carefully turn the salmon so the flesh is submerged in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Heat oven to 425 and place salmon in an ovenproof baking dish. Pour about 1 cup of the marinade over the fish and bake, 25-30 minutes (25 for medium-rare and 30 for rare).

Five Fruit Salad
In a large bowl, combine:
2 red pears, peeled and cubed
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 ripe avocado, cubed
1 cup reg grapes
8 oz. can canned pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 tsp. minced jalapeno
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1 Tbsp. red onion, minced
Juice of 1 lime