Salmon Cooked in a Plantain Leaf

This delicious recipe is sponsored by Mirum, but all opinions are my own!

Summer is almost here and, in my household, that means delicious cookouts! Although most people would associate a cookout with meats, I particularly like to cook fish on the grill. There’s so much you can do with fish over a fire!

For this recipe, I explored a technique I saw a couple of years ago in my native Honduras. We were on the island of Guanaja, and a local chef showed me how you can use plantain leaves to wrap the fish and bake it in a way that preserves the juiciness and delicious flavors.  I loved the resulting dish and was amazed at how the plantain leaf withstood the heat and helped bake the fish inside to tender, juicy perfection.

With the help of Knorr Selects Bouillon, and inspired by a South East Asian flavor palate, I came up my own recipe for salmon baked in a plantain leaf. This recipe is really quite quick, easy, and yet incredibly satisfying.  First, I added a spoonful of Knorr Selects Vegetable Bouillon to some warm soy sauce, and stirred it to create a sort of base stock. Knorr Selects Bouillon is not only a handy way to boost the flavor of our dish and bind the recipe together -a classic hack in Latino households!-,  but also a fantastic ingredient to ensure you’re elevating your cooking without compromising on health: the Knorr Selects Buillon line prides itself in including no added MSG, artificial preservatives, flavors or colors.

The beauty of the plantain leaf method is that it protects your food from drying out or overcooking. So, far from being a fancy and pretentious technique, the plantain leaf is actually very forgiving! To make sure the plantain leaves comply with the recipe’s demands, it is helpful to expose them to the heat of the grill briefly. You will observe how the leaves matte look is soon replaced by a more waxy appearance.  This will ensure the leaf is more flexible and pliable and can bend and fold over without breaking.

This recipe blew my mind!  Its flavors proved to be sophisticated and layered, and yet overall, the process was not too convoluted!  The many different flavors of our salsa (the sweet from the sugar and the jam, the spice from the ginger and jalapenos,  the savory soy sauce… ) seemed to come together in perfect harmony inside that little plantain leaf sauna, aided by the binding presence of Knorr Selects Bouillon.

There is something particularly appetizing about cooking a delicious dish out in the open.  Maybe it’s the challenge of harnessing the heat of a fire to meticulously serve your recipe.  I find getting a dish just right is more rewarding when you’re dealing with glowing embers instead of a kitchen stove or oven you can precisely calibrate!  This summer, I encourage you to pop open that barbecue grill and get curious! Any product of the Knorr Selects Buillon line can be a splendid and versatile companion for your culinary explorations. You may find all their varieties in the Hispanic food aisle of your local Kroger store (I purchased mine at Ralph’s but you can also find it in Fry’s, King Soopers, etc.). And if you needed more reasons to try this new line, there’s even an offer of $0.75 off Knorr Selects Bouillon that ends July 11th!

Hope you test it out and comment below with your favorite grilling recipes! 🙂

Salmon Cooked Inside a Plantain Leaf

Prep time: 15 min   Cook time: 20 min    Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 servings)

• 2 salmon fillets (about ¼ lb each)
• 2 Tbsps Knorr Selects Vegetable Bouillon
• ¼ cup of soy sauce, warm
• 2 tsps sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp of sugar
• 2 Tbsps of jalapeño jam
• 2 Tbsps of peeled and chopped ginger
• about 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 big plantain leaves, washed and slightly warmed (to make them more pliable)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prep your grill about 20 mins before you start preparing the seasoning.
2. For the seasoning, first dilute the Knorr Selects Vegetable Bouillon in the warm soy sauce. Next, fold in the other liquid ingredients (sesame oil and a bit of jalapeño jam to give it a bit of kick).
3. After that, fold in the dry ingredients (sugar, ginger, spring onions, fried onions).  The ginger will give us a playful, almost floral hint, while the sugar will work with the onions to create a deliciously mellow glaze. Our resulting mix will be a flavor-packed pasty salsa.
4. Now lay the salmon fillets on top of the plantain leaves (skin side down) and apply our delicious salsa on the pink meat before carefully wrapping the leaf around the fish. Some people would tie up the ends to ensure the resulting leave parcel if sealed at all times, but I find it is enough to simply to fold the leafy flaps underneath and use the salmon’s weight to hold them down.  Thus, put the plantain leaf-wrapped fish on the grill over indirect heat (with the embers on the opposite side, to prevent possible flareups and the leaves catching fire!).
5. At around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the fish should cook thoroughly in about 20 minutes. But don’t worry if your fish stays for a bit longer or reaches higher temperatures on the grill.
6. When the time is up, take out the fish and unwrap it very carefully.  I used tongs to avoid getting burned! I used a fresh plantain leave to plate the fish, which I accompanied with white rice and sauteed asparagus. (PSST! I used to Knorr Selects Bouillon on these too 😛 !)