Grilled Wild Salmon with HimalaSalt & Organic Pink & Green Peppercorns

Chef Michael Ballon of Castle Street Cafe created the most richly satisfying combination using an unusual combination of pears, peppercorns, and spinach. Try this dish, it's incredibly delicious.

Salmon with HimalaSalt, Organic Pink & Green Peppercorns

Braised Pears, and Pear Sauce

Prepared by Chef Michael Ballon of Castle Street Café,

Great Barrington, MA

Serves 4

4 6-8 oz salmon Filets

6 Ripe pears

½ cup pear or Apple juice

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/3 teaspoon Sustainable Sourcing organic pink peppercorns

1/3 teaspoon Sustainable Sourcing organic green peppercorns

¼ cup white wine

1cup spinach leaves

1. Peel 2 of the pears, blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, and then cool in ice water.

Drain well.

2. Puree the cooked pears in a blender with ½ teaspoon ginger. Heat the sauce until warm.

3 Slice the remaining 4 pears unpeeled, and lightly sauté in a little oil with the remaining ½ teaspoon ginger, until soft. Set aside.

4. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, place the salmon filets in, and sauté for 2 minutes on each side. Cover the pan with a lid as the fish cooks.

5. Add the peppercorns, spinach leaves, cooked and wine, then cook 1 more minute with the lid on, or until fish is cooked.

6. Place some of the pear puree on the bottom of 4 plates, put the cooked pears & spinach mix in the center, and place the salmon on top Serve immediately.

Chef Bio: Chef Michael Ballon opened the Castle Street Cafe in 1989, after 10 years cooking in New York City as Executive Chef at Lavin's , Sofi, Wood's, The New York City Bar Association, and Plum's,. Located in Great Barrington next to the historic Mahaiwe Theater. Michael’s food essays also appear monthly in Berkshire Homestyle Magzine, a regional lifestyle publication distributed in the Berkshires and Albany area. He was voted Berkshire Grown’s chef of the year in 2000.

http://www.castlestreetcafe.com/