This is a nice light version of a tartare using beautiful vibrant wild-caught salmon in place of the traditional steak. This is great summer preparation, lightly dressed with plenty of fresh dill and chives, studded with creamy avocado. But the real star here is a little surprising: super-crispy salmon skin! With just a little time on the stove top, the salmon skin can be made into naturally smoky bites that can be topped and dunked into the tartare like crackers. If you ever find yourself with salmon skin that you don’t need, save it in the freezer so you can make extra “crackers” for this dish everybody always wants more and its ridiculously good for you.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (454 g) skin-on, scaled salmon fillet
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp (20 g) minced shallot
- 2 tbsp (4 g) fresh minced chives
- 2 tbsp (4 g) fresh minced dill
- 1 tsp (5 ml) gluten-free fish sauce
- 1 tsp (2 g) ground ginger
- 1 avocado
- 1 tsp (5 ml) coconut or avocado oil
- 1 lemon
How to Make It
-
Marinate
- Check the salmon for any pin bones and use tweezers to remove them if needed. Use a fillet knife to carefully slice the salmon fillet from the skin. Set the skin aside for later. Chop the salmon into a fine ¼-inch (6-mm) dice and toss together with the extra-virgin olive oil to coat. Stir through the shallot, chives, dill, fish sauce and ground ginger, then chop the avocado so that it is the same size as the diced salmon. Stir through carefully so that the avocado is evenly distributed through the mixture, but doesn’t get squished. Refrigerate while you make the “crackers.” Crisp
- Trim any leftover salmon still attached to the skin. Pat the skin dry—this will stop it from steaming instead of crisping. Coat a cast-iron skillet with the oil and set to medium heat. Add the salmon skin to the pan, sealed side down, and place another heavy pan or skillet on top—this will stop the salmon skin from curling at the edges. Cook for 4 minutes, until the skin is flat and beginning to crisp, then flip over and cook the other side until the skin is totally crispy, about another 2–3 minutes. Let the crisped skin cool slightly, then use a very sharp knife to cut it into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares. Squeeze half of the lemon over the salmon tartare and stir to combine. Spoon the tartare into bowls and chop the other half of the lemon into wedges. Serve with the “crackers” and lemon wedges on the side and eat immediately!