The “Red Blazer” Sashimi of Salmon with Ginger and Sesame Oil
Serves 4
If you’re looking for something simple to make tonight, try this recipe. You’ll be amazed how easy and it is and delicious it tastes.
I’m very fortunate to have a good friend who lives six months of his life in Florida and the other six months in Alaska. He’s always bringing us wild Alaskan salmon, and I’m always trying to come up with new and exciting dishes to make with it. We met in Alaska over 20 years ago while I was teaching at the Martin Luther King Jr. King Career Center in Anchorage, on a one year’s Fullbright teacher exchange program back in 1998. Jim Hollis is one of the most amazing guys I have ever met in my life. I could tell you loads of stories about this amazing gentleman, but I’m going to tell you the three that best illustrate why Jim is so special to me and my family.
We arrived in Anchorage late August to start school in September. If you’ve ever been to Alaska, the summers days are long with usually 22 hours of daylight. People are cutting their grass at two in the morning, trying to do as much as they can before the short fall and winter days arrive that only have five hours of daylight. Jim was a teacher at the same school. He turned up with a box full of goodies for the boys the day we arrived in town. The boys loved him from that day on, and my wife Alison always had a soft spot for him. If you know Jim, then you know that he is a lady’s man. For me, it was like meeting a brother. He was kind, generous to a fault, always willing to help out at the drop of a hat. I knew then we would be lifelong friends.
I enjoyed each and every day working with the culinary students at the school in Alaska. The only problem was that we had one car. When I left for work, my wife Alison was stranded in the house for eight to ten hours each day. Jonathan was two and Matthew 14 months. James was just a twinkle in our eyes back then. The house was ten miles outside of Anchorage. Since only five other houses were in our neighborhood, brown bear would often wander down the street, meaning all the kids were locked inside. A family of moose lived in our back yard. Even venturing into your own yard could be dangerous. You can imagine my wife pulling her hair out most days. Jim turns up one day with a bright red Ford Blazer. Now keep in mind, the truck was a wreck of a car with the windscreen smashed in several places and the heater didn’t work. He hands me the keys, and tells me he’s insured the truck in my name. It has a full tank of gas, and it’s mine until I leave Alaska. I drove it thankfully. It saved our year in Alaska, and probably my marriage. What a guy, and I’d only just met him a month earlier.
In April that following year my youngest son Matthew became ill. We were told by the doctor he had a bad case of flu and would be better in a few days. A week later, we were really worried as he was getting worse not better. It turns out he had type 1 diabetes. He was close to going into a coma because his blood sugar was so high. When he was finally diagnosed, he was immediately rushed into intensive care and stayed there for the next seven days, until his blood sugar dropped back to normal. Again, Jim steps in, he taught horticulture. He looked after all the green houses at the school and worked with the most demanding of students. He would have his class covered, put on my chefs jacket, and takes my role as chef instructor. He ran my culinary class while I visited Matthew each day in hospital and looked after Jonathan while my wife stayed with Matthew while he was ill.
What a guy, over the last 20 years I could tell you more stories about this amazing man. Jim used to wrestle and was also a wrestling coach to hundreds of students from Alaska. He’s a fighter, and now faces his biggest battle. I’m glad that this time I can be here to help him in any way I can. Like brothers, we’ll face this together. So, thank you Jim. In return, I’ve named this dish the “Red Blazer” because of the red color of the wild Alaskan salmon. I hope you enjoy and it helps you feel gratitude for the great people in your life.
The “Red Blazer” Sashimi of Salmon with Ginger and Sesame Oil
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the dressing
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 fresh pink grapefruit, segments and juice of
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very fine strips
1 tablespoon snipped chives
1 teaspoon pickled ginger, minced
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
To serve
12oz of wild salmon, cut into 12 medium to thin slices
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
A twist of black pepper
How to Make:
In a small bowl, stir all the dressing ingredients together. Arrange 3 pieces of salmon on each plate and pour over equal amounts of the dressing. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds, cilantro and black pepper and serve.