Roasted Salmon with Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce)

Here's a quick and delicious recipe for salmon. (It's a good recipe to impress someone with your cooking skills, especially if you're pressed for time and don't particularly have great cooking skills.)


Ingredients:

    * 1 1/2 pounds salmon (It's about 8 inches long but don't hold me to it.)
    * 2 tablespoons of pesto (get store bought - Do you have time to make fresh pesto?)
    * Half a lemon
    * Pinch sea salt
    * Freshly ground black pepper
    * Tablespoon of olive oil (or canola oil if you're on a diet.)
    * (optional) Bunch of watercress


Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce)

    * 8 ounces plain yogurt (Greek-style yogurt works well)
    * 1 small Kirby cucumber (but half a regular cuke will do)
    * Heaping tablespoon of chopped fresh dill (1/8 of cup if you must know)
    * Splash of white vinegar
    * Pinch of salt
    * 1 large garlic clove, smashed.


Tools

    * Cutting board
    * One utility knife
    * One vegetable peeler
    * One teaspoon
    * Roasting tray
    * Medium sized bowl
    * Large wooden spoon
    * Bottle of Dry white wine (or Pinot noir, if your are adventurous)
    * Wine glass


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450° F.

Rinse off and dry a bunch of watercress. Use the watercress to lightly oil a roasting pan. Do you need to do this - No - but I like watercress.  Use the watercress to make a bed for the salmon. Place the salmon, skin side up (or use skinless - if dieting or you don't like the skin of fish) on the bed and spread the pesto on the skin (or season the skinless fish with a squeezing of lemon juice, pinch of sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.)  Sing whatever lullaby to your fish corpse you think appropriate.

Roast the salmon in the preheated oven just until it is opaque in the center, about 10 to 15 minutes depending upon the thickness of the fish (or how you like to eat your fish.)  Open your wine and take a sip. Ponder whether or salmon is being over fished? Take another sip of wine

While the salmon is roasting, make the sauce:

Peel your cucumber and slice length wise. Seed your cucumber (take the spoon and scrape out the seeds.  Don't scrape too deeply or you'll have no cucumber left.) Slice the cucumber into thin slices and pat the slices dry between two paper towels (Do this step or your sauce will be too watery.  Or don't - what do I care.  I'm not the Tzatziki police.  I'm not even Greek.)

Mix together the yogurt, splash of white vinegar, dill, and smashed garlic. Add your dried cucumber slices and combine with the yogurt sauce well.  Finish your glass of wine.

Serve with the roasted salmon (or anything else you might like to have Tzatziki with - you've made the sauce.)  If you prepared this on the bed of watercress, serve the watercress along with the salmon.