Summer Dinner

There’s no better time than summer to eat in Canada. I grew up with a serious garden and try to emulate it as best I can on my urban, east facing patio with sweet, sun ripened tomatoes and lush flavourful herbs to bring food to life. Combine this with a BBQ, fresh catch and some chilled wine and life doesn’t get much better.

Tonight’s menu:

BBQ Wild Pacific Salmon +Skin Couscous bowl

Ingredients & Method for two

  • Skin on, wild salmon filet, enough for your appetite(s). An hour before cooking whisk together the juice of half a lemon, 1/4c olive oil, crushed garlic clove, tsp of Dijon, tsp honey, salt and pepper and a generous amount of your garden herbs chopped roughly. I like oregano, thyme and basil. Pour over the fish to coat in a glass dish and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of dinner. *note* fish is delicate and will get mushy if you marinate too long, don’t go over an hour.

  • Half a cup of dry couscous, top with 1 cup of boiling water, pinch of salt, cover and set aside.

  • Chop a cup per person of bite-sized pieces of your favourite seasonal veggies. Toss in a bit of olive oil, garlic, and more of those herbs. Wrap into a foil packet. (I like cauliflower, capsicum and onion, maybe asparagus or broccoli depending on season).

  • Set aside 1/2c good crumbled feta, handful of cherry tomatoes, olives, more fresh herbs.

  • Liberally oil the grill and fire up the BBQ to about 400. Start the veggie packet a good 10-15 min before the fish, rotating on occasion.

  • Start the fish flesh side down and grill 2-3 min and carefully flip onto skin side. Let it cook another 3-4 min. The skin should crisp and the meat will flake when done.

In your bowl, spoon in couscous, grilled veggies, fresh ingredients and toss with a bit more lemon juice. Top with the portion of fish. The fish skin should have easily peeled off. I like to chop it and garnish the dish with it. All of the best nutrients are in the skin… it’s very tasty and nice to get that little crunch.

Serve With

  • I like salads of all kinds. I had this with a Greek-style salad and a very fresh cucumber salad, loaded with dill.

Wine Under $20

  • Though I’m a red girl all year, I’m really into whites and rosés this summer. I like crisp, and not too sweet to nicely show off the food flavours. I went with a favourite: Ken Forrester’s chenin blanc from South Africa, right on the $20 mark. Another to try if you want to support local in BC is Road 13’s rosé from the Okanagan. I can’t get enough of it.

Lara Hill