Tucked between the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Frist Art Museum, and just two blocks from the legendary Ryman Auditorium, the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Nashville is an ideal base to explore Music City.
And the hotel’s own restaurant Stompin’ Grounds is an ideal base to fuel up for your explorations, too! Chef John Ford turns locally sourced ingredients into classics from biscuits & gravy and Nashville hot chicken wings to a Wagyu burger and this tasty grilled salmon with spiced Mediterranean flavor.
The fish itself is so simple: Verlasso fillets get marinated in herbs and garlic, then char-grilled. Its partner is a two-color fluffy quinoa salad, tossed with honey and lots of spices that make up a perfect partner to the salmon’s richness. Crank up some Dolly Parton, and enjoy!
Grilled Salmon with Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Makes 5 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the quinoa salad:
Olive oil
Half an onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 cup (uncooked) white quinoa
1 cup (uncooked) red quinoa
1 ½ qt. water
3 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. ground fenugreek seeds
½ cup dried apricots, sliced in half
1 cup sun-dried tomato, chopped
8 oz. canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
For the salmon marinade:
2 cups canola oil
1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, stems removed
5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed
¼ cup peeled garlic (5 or 6 cloves)
¼ cup peeled shallot (1 large or 2 small)
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
5 (6-oz.) skinless Verlasso salmon fillet portions
To cook and serve:
10 oz. (1 ¼ cups) chicken or vegetable stock
5 oz. fresh spinach
5 oz. feta cheese
Olive oil
Frisée or other fresh greens
DIRECTIONS:
Quinoa salad:
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and salt, and sauté, stirring, until they are fragrant and starting to turn translucent. Add the quinoa and water, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is tender and has absorbed all of the water, about 30 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, heat the honey, cumin, paprika, fenugreek and a little olive oil in a small pan over low heat until fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When the quinoa is finished, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and fold in the honey-spice mixture, apricot, sun-dried tomato, artichoke hearts and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Salmon marinade:
Using a stick blender or food processor, puree the canola oil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, shallot and salt until smooth. Pour the mixture over the salmon fillets in a small baking dish and turn the salmon several times to coat. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To cook and serve:
Preheat a grill to high. Remove the salmon fillets from the marinade mixture and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill for 1-2 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees and grill for 1-2 minutes more. (This will create a nice cross-hatch pattern of grill marks.) Flip the fillets over and repeat on the other side. If the salmon is not yet done, flip again and repeat until it is fully cooked. Remove to a wire rack to rest.
While the fish is cooking, add the chilled quinoa salad and the stock to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until hot. Fold in the spinach and remove from the heat. Let stand briefly to let the spinach wilt.
Divide the quinoa mixture among 5 plates and crumble the feta cheese on top. Place a grilled salmon fillet on each plate and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few leaves of frisée or other fresh greens.