Grilled Salmon with Creamy Dill Cucumbers
This combination of rich salmon with cool, crisp cukes is sure to become a summertime staple. Dill cucumbers are delicious and easy to make—eat them with the salmon or on their own. I prefer crème fraîche in them, but you can use sour cream instead. Whether you grill the salmon over wood or charcoal—my preference—or on a gas grill, don’t over-heat it: you want the grill hot enough to give the fish some color but not so hot that it chars the flesh. I tend to move the fish around the grill to find the sweet spot. Personally, I like to cook salmon so that it’s warmed all the way through but not well done.
Serves 4 as an entrée
Ingredients:
- 3 c. peeled, seeded, and sliced English cucumbers
- 1 tbsp. chopped dill
- 1 tsp. cider vinegar
- ¼ c. crème fraîche
- ¼ c. very thinly sliced red onion
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 skinned salmon filets, about 6 oz. each
- 2 tsp. canola oil
- 4 lemon wedges
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Instructions:
- In a large bowl, stir together the cucumbers, dill, vinegar, crème fraîche, and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Preheat a grill to medium heat.
- Using a paper towel, pat the salmon filets dry. Brush each filet with ½ teaspoon canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the filets on the grill, on what would have been skin-side down, and cook for 2 minutes. Using a spatula, give the fish a quarter turn and cook 2 minutes more. Repeat two more times for a total of 8 minutes. The goal is to evenly cook and color each piece of fish. Flip the fish over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and squeeze a lemon wedge over each salmon filet.
- Serve the cucumbers on the side.
