The Occasion: As a one-pan meal, the Maple-Miso Glazed Salmon with Green Beans comes together quickly and is perfect for a weeknight dinner. The flavors are outstanding and company-worthy. Whatever the occasion, serve this dish and you’ll be a winner!

The Recipe: The recipe comes from Colu Henry at the New York Times. It provides an excellent foundation for your own flavor tweaks and/or substitutions of different proteins or veggies. 

Kitchen Tips: Jack up the flavor by increasing the quantity of miso, maple, garlic, and herbs. I also left the fish in the marinade longer – about an hour in the sauce versus 30 minutes or so as described in the original recipe. Highly recommend!

The green beans need more cooking time than the salmon. Consider pre-cooking the beans in the microwave before adding them to the sheet pan. 

Although the original recipe does not call for it, I opted to heat the leftover marinade in a small pan on the stovetop, reducing it to a rich, tangy glaze. A little dab of this sauce brushed on top of each salmon fillet and a dash of fresh herbs really finish the dish nicely. Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

The Verdict: If you crave that oh-so-good sweet-sour umami taste, you will love this recipe. Great for dinner parties and weeknights with the family, it's hard to go wrong with this one. Enjoy! 

Maple and Miso Sheet-Pan Salmon with Green Beans
Recipe source: Colu Henry for the New York Times
 
INGREDIENTS:

• 4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, about 1-inch thick
•  Kosher salt
•  Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon white or brown miso
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
•  Pinch of red-pepper flakes (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)
• ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro, both leaves and tender stems
• 4 lime wedges, for serving
•  Flaky sea salt, for serving (optional)
• Cooked white rice, for serving (optional)

 
DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. (Option: I like the green beans to get slightly blistered so I use the pan without any foil or paper.)
• Season the salmon fillets well with salt and pepper and place them on a plate or in a large shallow bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, miso, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and garlic.
• Pour the mixture on top of the salmon and gently massage the marinade all over the fish. Let marinate while the oven comes to temperature. (Marinate at least 30 minutes, better for 60 minutes, no more than 75 minutes.)
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl toss together the green beans with the olive oil, red-pepper flakes and sesame oil (if using) and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Lay the salmon fillets on the sheet pan skin side down and spread the green beans out surrounding the fillets.
• Bake until the salmon is opaque, about 9-10 minutes. If the green beans still need some cooking time, remove the salmon and keep warm while putting the beans back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes, or until you are happy with the texture. (Or you can pre-cook the green beans in the microwave for 2 minutes before cooking them with the salmon.)
• Right before serving, scatter with cilantro and a good squeeze of lime. Season with flaky sea salt and serve with rice, if desired.

​Some week this has been, eh? Especially if you’re following the news in our nation’s capital and other hot spots around the world. Who’s ready for some drinkies? (Shoots hand in the air, waves it with urgency.)
 
We sampled this tasty baby at a dinner party a few weeks ago and may I just say – oh hell yes! That’ll do nicely. 

Guess why. Yup, date syrup and mezcal are the featured ingredients. The taste is smoky, deep, and bittersweet. Want more details? Here you go.

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

A Date with Mezcal
Recipe source: Ilise Goldberg
 
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Mezcal
• 1 oz Tequila
• ½ oz Orange Liqueur such as Cointreau
• 2 ¾ oz Pineapple Juice (canned or fresh)
• ½ oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
• ¼ oz Hot Pepper Infused Date Syrup (see recipe below)
• Tajin seasoning to rim the glass 
• Pineapple for garnish

 
DIRECTIONS:

• In a shaker stir mezcal, tequila and date syrup together to allow the syrup to dissolve into the mix. Add Cointreau, pineapple juice, lime juice and ice and shake. 
• Run a lime wedge around half the rim of a doubles glass and dip in Tajin seasoning.
• Pour the mix over one large ice cube or a couple of smaller solid cubes and garnish with a pineapple wedge.
• I chose to infuse the date syrup with chiles instead of the Mezcal as the syrup may have multiple uses. However it is certainly possible to infuse the mezcal with chile peppers instead.

 
Hot Pepper Infused Date Syrup:
Pepper infused date syrup was inspired by a recipe from The View From Great Island

Ingredients:

• 1 cup date syrup
• About 3 Tbsp crushed red peppers (approx.. 10 small dried peppers or to taste). Another option is to try using some chipotle peppers to add a little extra smoke, but you’ll probably still need to add red peppers to get enough heat.

 
Instructions:

• Put the date syrup and the peppers in a double boiler or a glass bowl or measuring cup over a saucepan of boiling water.
• Mix the peppers into the date syrup and heat for several minutes until the temp is about 150 degrees F. A thermometer isn't necessary, but you don't want the date syrup to get too hot. Turn off the heat and let the date syrup sit over the water and steep for about 10 minutes.
• Taste the syrup – if not enough heat add some more peppers and repeat step 2.
• While the date syrup is lukewarm, strain it into a clean jar or jars.
• The date syrup can also be served with cheese. If you don’t have easy access to date syrup you could use honey instead.