Salmon Avgolemono

Full disclosure: I did not take this picture. But you already knew that.

I did, however, make a very delicious salmon avgolemono. So now glance at that picture again and then imagine a delicious piece of salmon where that roasted chicken is hanging out. That's what I ate for lunch and dinner on Sunday.

This is one of those Greek recipes that sounds more bizarre than it is--trust me when I say that you will never combine lemon, eggs, and rice in a more delicious way.

We are moving into High Holy season here-- the countdown to Greek Easter is on and the final Ferragosto decision has been made (sailing in the Cyclades Islands, thank you very much), so expect an uptick in the number of Greek-related recipes.

In other news: we apparently gain 3 minutes of daylight per day in March. Need I say more?

Salmon Avgolemono
Ingredients

• 2 lbs salmon, skin off
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 3 lemons
• 3 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
• 3/4 c grain of your choice (cous cous, rice, orzo, pasta, whatever)
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)

Assembly
1.Preheat the oven to broil. In a medium pot, put the salmon and chopped onions in just enough water so that the salmon is covered. Add 1 tsp salt and let water boil. Boil the salmon until it is cooked through--this took me about 8 or 9 minutes, but will depend on the cut of salmon, thickness of pot, etc The key is not to let it boil much longer than necessary. 

2. Take salmon out of pan and put it on a broiler-proof pan (preferably a rimmed one) with the onions (but leave water in pot--don't throw it out!). Mix together in a small bowl juice from 1 lemon, 2 TBS olive oil, 1/2 tsp pepper, half the oregano, and a tsp of salt. Dump this mixture over the salmon/onions--it will seem an excessive amount but you will be glad later that you did. Broil the salmon/onions until the salmon is gold on top, which took me 7 minutes or so (note: I have an extremely small oven so don't be surprised if yours takes longer).
3. While the salmon cooks, add 2 c water and 1 tsp salt to the pot from before and bring it back to a boil.  Add your grain, cook it according to normal instructions and remove pot from heat when finished.
4. Using a standing mixer, hand mixer, or plain-ol whisk, beat the egg whites until a good foam has formed on the top.  One at a time, mix in the egg yolks and juice from remaining two lemons, fully incorporating each before adding the next (I did yolks first, then juice but it probably doesn't matter)
5. When the broth has reached room temp (and not a degree before!), keep whisking and slowly add the broth into the egg mixture.  AGAIN: you should be whisking in its entirety. Keep whisking until the broth gets thick and frothy. Then add remaining oregano and salt/pepper if you feel so inclined.  Serve warm (mine got thicker, creamier, and frothier once I heated it back up in the microwave) either over the salmon/grain or on the side as pictured above. I poured mine right over top, which ruined the chances of getting a good picture but made for a very, very delicious lunch!
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