The Pumpkin Craze

It seems like every fall we are bombarded by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pumpkin recipes: pies, cakes, breads, tarts, rolls, gelati, custards, and so on. Mostly deserts.

Rarer are savory pumpkin recipes, although I have seen a few for pumpkin gnocchi, or soup, or roasted pumpkin slices with some sauce or other.

Either way, I notice that most people are either on the pumpkin bandwagon (with gusto), or they prefer to do without pumpkin in their lives.

Many years ago, Mark and I bought a heavy-duty cedar plank in Seattle for roasting salmon in the oven. This was not one of those disposable, one-time-use planks we see everywhere today. I roasted a lot of salmon on that plank, and still do.

The first recipe I made using the plank came from a magazine almost 20 years ago. My version is a riff on that original. And it isn't so much about the salmon, as it is about the sauce.

The pumpkin vinaigrette was the component that made this dish so special, so unique. It doesn't employ the usual pumpkin spices. Their absence might make this recipe more appealing to pumpkin naysayers.

Over the years, I have taken the original vinaigrette recipe and reworked it to make it both easier to make, and more accessible for year-round ingredients.

The original recipe called for apple cider, and real cider certainly isn't available year round. I ended up using undiluted apple juice concentrate. It brings a great apple taste - in fact, more flavor than the cider - and always very easy to find.

I switched out the hulled pumpkin seeds, which are hard to find in many places, and used either pecans or walnuts. for the original recipe called for a garnish with hulled pumpkin seeds. I used salted sunflower seeds, but have switched to pine nuts. Either works great.

Of course, the original recipe called for homegrown, house-roasted pumpkin purée (I did use freshly roasted pumpkin for making the recipe today), but I have found that canned pumpkin works just as well.

The choice of olive oil and vinegar make a big difference in the taste of the sauce. Use the best you can find. While I like cider vinegar, it really doesn't improve the apple flavor of the vinaigrette and it can be harsh, so I use an herb-infused vinegar. Tarragon vinegar will be the most readily available, but you can infuse your own vinegars using fresh or dried herbs.

One of the biggest changes I made to the overall recipe was heating the vinaigrette. The original was served cold on hot salmon. I am not a fan of the hot-cold combination. Heating it really made all the difference.

In the end, the cedar essence imparted by the plank is overwhelmed by the fullness of the vinaigrette, so I no longer plank the salmon for this recipe. Besides, not everyone has a cedar plank.

And that, my friends, is how a recipe evolves!

~ David

Roasted Salmon with Pumpkin-Nut Vinaigrette

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

extra virgin olive oil for brushing salmon, and for pan

4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin and pin bones removed

1/4 cup pure pumpkin purée (not spiced) *

1/4 cup toasted pecans or walnuts

1/4 cup undiluted apple juice concentrate, thawed

1/4 cup herb-infused vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced into slivers

1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. 

Mix the sea salt, pepper and mustard in a small bowl. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush lightly with some of the oil. Place fillets on the foil, skinned side down. Brush the tops with olive oil. Divide the salt-pepper-mustard mixture among the fillets and rub evenly over the tops. Allow to sit at room temperature while you prepare the vinaigrette.

Place pumpkin purée, nuts, apple juice concentrate, oil, and vinegar in a blender and purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Pour the vinaigrette into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Place fillets in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until done to your taste.

While salmon is roasting, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add slivered shallot; sauté until shallot softens and begins to brown. Add spinach and sauté until just wilted.

Divide sautéed spinach among 4 heated plates, and top with the roasted fillets. Spoon some sauce over the salmon, and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serves 4.

* Note: If you want to use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, simple preheat the oven to 400°F, slice your pumpkin/squash in half from blossom-to-stem end, the place on a lightly greased baking sheet for 45 minutes to an hour. Let cool, and scoop out the flesh.