How To Season Your Salmon, According To Eric Ripert - Exclusive
It's the time of the season — for salmon, that is. Salmon is a classic summer staple that can be cooked a variety of ways, which can sometimes be overwhelming to kitchen novices. We turned to Chef Eric Ripert, who specializes in Modern French cuisine and seafood, to give us some of his top tips. In an exclusive interview with Mashed, the television personality explained that you can grill, broil, poach, or steam the fish.
"Baking or broiling is the simplest because ... You can even put it in a toaster oven and have a fantastic result," Ripert explained. The celebrity chef advises that you take a piece of aluminum foil, olive oil, and season the salmon in the broiler for a few minutes. You can adjust the broiling time based on how raw you enjoy your fish. Ripert prefers a medium rare salmon with two simple seasonings that take the dish from good to great.
Don't discount simple salt and pepper
Eric Ripert's New York City restaurant, Le Bernardin, focuses on seafood dishes from scallops to tuna, in which he uses two simple seasonings to upgrade the flavor. "At Le Bernardin, I think 99% of the seafood that we cook, it's salt [and] pepper," the food connoisseur told Mashed. Ripert added, "The more ingredients you put on it, the more you lose the identity of what you are cooking."
He has a new cookbook coming out named "Seafood Simple: A Cookbook," in which he has "a lot of techniques demystified" in terms of cooking fish (salt and pepper included!). If you need more ideas, you can learn how to cook the perfect salmon 16 different ways. Ripert asks that people become more educated on seafood consumption, as he often works with environmental conscious organizations and brands to raise awareness and cultivate culinary creativity (like the vegan dressings he created with Nature's Fynd).
Learn more about Nature Fynd's vegan dressings here. You can keep up with Eric Ripert's latest projects on his Instagram page.