Moroccan-inspired fresh wild sockeye salmon is delicious hot or cold

DINNER FOR FOUR: A platter of grilled fresh wild sockeye salmon accented with Moroccan-flavored organic diced tomatoes and fresh herbs. At $9.99 a pound, a 1.77-pound fillet from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro provided six serving pieces, enough for four people with leftovers.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I combined a fillet of fresh wild sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale, a can of diced organic tomatoes and spices from a Moroccan apricot stew to produce another great dinner.

I emptied a can of organic diced tomatoes from Costco into a pan, added a few ounces of red wine and spices from a recipe I found in the newspaper -- a tablespoon each of minced garlic and curry powder; plus teaspoons of ground cumin, ground cinnamon and ground coriander; and black pepper to taste.

While that was reducing over a medium flame, I added a little sea salt and fresh lime juice to six serving pieces of wild salmon and transferred them to a preheated stove-top grill I had sprayed with oil.

The fish spent 4 minutes skin-side down before I flipped them over for another 3 minutes. Then, I removed them to a platter and added the hot stewed tomatoes and fresh chopped basil and mint from my garden.  

SEVEN MINUTES: I preheated the grill straddling two burners of my stove over medium-high heat, then turned the burners down to medium before adding the fish.

SALMON AND QUINOA: I ate the salmon with leftover organic quinoa I had prepared the night before. I finished with a small salad of organic spring mix.

SALMON AND SALAD: The next night, I had a piece of the wild salmon cold over a salad of organic spring mix and grape tomatoes from my garden, dressed in extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Costco egg whites and fresh blueberries are up, wild salmon is down

Medium-spicy Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa, a new item at Costco Wholesale, tastes great, judging from a free sample I tried in the Hackensack warehouse store today. Each of the two jars holds 2 pounds 6 ounces of salsa ($7.89).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Tens of millions of egg-laying chickens caught the flu and farmers killed them, raising the price of eggs, according to news reports last month. 

At Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, the impact has varied:

Kirkland Signature Egg Whites (six 16-ounce cartons for $9.99) were replaced by Egg Beaters, the same 100% pure egg whites, but members now get only four 16-ounce cartons for $8.99.

Meanwhile, the price of cage-free Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs doesn't seem to have been affected (two dozen whole eggs for $6.99).

Egg Beaters replaced Kirkland Signature Egg Whites.

Two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale made for a hearty breakfast over organic whole wheat pasta with sardines and chopped garlic. The price of organic whole eggs hasn't been affected by avian flu.

Blueberries and wild salmon

On Wednesday, my wife came home with an 18-ounce package of fresh blueberries from Michigan for $4.99, compared to a 32-ounce package of Jersey blueberries she bought at Costco a couple of weeks ago for $5.99.

But Costco has again reduced the price of fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets, this time to $8.99 from $9.99.

Tonight, I plan to grill the salmon on the stove top with a little sea salt and fresh lime juice, and serve it with Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa and Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.

Now, fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets are $8.99 a pound, only $2 more a pound than artificially colored farmed Atlantic salmon, below.

Wild sockeye salmon with diced tomatoes, pesto and ripe peaches

Fresh wild sockeye salmon accented with pesto, a reduction of organic diced tomatoes and red wine, and a grilled ripe peach.

Editor's note: You'll need ripe peaches for one of my favorite preparations of grilled fresh wild salmon. Today, I also discuss the end of ShopRite's Summer Can Can Sale, and a few good buys at Whole Foods Market.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After two or three tries, I finally found some peaches that ripened on my kitchen counter for a savory and sweet preparation of fresh wild sockeye salmon.

Wild salmon fillets are widely available at Costco Wholesale, ShopRite and other stores, but I have yet to see them on restaurant menus this summer.

I grilled the fillet -- cut into six serving pieces and seasoned with sea salt and fresh lime juice -- and peach halves on the stove top.

First, in a pan, I reduced a can of organic diced tomatoes and red wine, seasoned with garlic powder, black pepper and a few red-pepper flakes, until the mixture thickened.

The prepared pesto doesn't need heating. All of the ingredients (except the wine) came from Costco Wholesale.

I started to grill halves from three peaches before I put the salmon on a preheated stove-top grill, skin-side down. Peaches take a total of 20 minutes on both sides; the salmon is cooked through in 8 minutes over medium-high heat.

Fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets were $9.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. I plated the salmon before adding the organic diced tomatoes and refrigerated pesto.

The Eastern Peaches I bought at Costco Wholesale (6 pounds for $8.49) are distributed by a Glassboro, N.J., company. They came in 100% recycled box made in North Carolina, but there is no indication where the fruit is grown. They ripened on the counter in two days.

The next day, I used the leftover reduction of organic diced tomatoes and red wine to stuff an egg-white omelet, along with smoked wild salmon, fresh spinach and reduced-fat Swiss cheese slices, above.

The omelet, made in a 10-inch pan, is enough for two. You can serve it for breakfast with leftover pasta, a baked sweet potato or organic brown rice, all good bread substitutes.

Adirondack Seltzer

ShopRite's Summer Can Can Sale ended unexpectedly on Saturday, but the store continues to offer 1-liter bottles of Adirondack Seltzer for 40 cents each or $4.80 for a case of 12.

I found two cases of Lemon-Lime at the Paramus ShopRite and three more at the Englewood ShopRite.

Salsa, coffee, wine

I don't eat chips, but love the 365 Everyday Value salsas from Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

Last week, I picked up jars of Roasted Salsa Verde and Roasted Chipotle Salsa ($2.69 each for 16 ounces).

They can be heated up with fresh lime juice and used to poach fresh fish. You can then use the salsa over rice or another side dish you serve with the fish.

Leftover salsa also can be used in omelets.

A pound of organic Pacific Rim Coffee Beans were $8.99 (you can grind them in the store), and a bottle of sparkling wine from Spain (Brut) was $5.99.

At Costco, lower price on King of Cheeses, news of Teterboro store

Often called the King of Cheeses, wedges of Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy are now available at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack for $8.49 a pound, compared to $11.79 a pound in February 2014.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss three of my favorites, all available at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack -- Parmigiano Reggiano, Basil Pesto and Fresh Wild Sockeye Salmon. On a recent vacation in Montreal and Vermont, sad to say, I never saw wild salmon on a menu.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I'm not sure what's behind Costco Wholesale's dramatic price cut on imported Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

I'm pretty certain this crumbly, slightly salty aged cheese, which is wonderful with fruit and in salads, has always sold for more than $10 a pound.

But on Thursday, at my Hackensack Costco, the price was $8.49 a pound for a cheese that's aged more than 24 months. 

I grabbed a 1.45-pound wedge, even though I haven't finished the Parmigiano Reggiano I bought for $9.77 a pound at Maywood's Marketplace in June.

Once you take the cheese out of the wrapper, it's best to cut the wedge into smaller pieces, trim off the rind and store it in the refrigerator in an air-tight container, such as Snapwear.

You can dice the rind and use it to flavor pasta sauce; it doesn't completely dissolve, so if you want to remove it before serving the dish, use bigger pieces and fish them out.

Parmigiano Reggiano is made with part-skimmed cow's milk, rennet, cheese cultures and salt, so it doesn't have as much fat as many other cheeses.

The wedge I bought has a best-by date of March 2016.

Shredded Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano, which is more expensive than the same cheese in wedges, and Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto accent organic eggs poached in marinara sauce. You could just as well shave cheese from a larger piece over your eggs as they cook. You can also find recipes for stuffing zucchini flowers with the cheese or adding it to lasagna and other dishes.

Fresh Wild Sockeye Salmon with Pesto and Lime. The salmon, which was $9.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, was grilled on the stove top over medium-high heat for 8 minutes with a little sea salt and fresh lime juice. Chopped herbs from our garden, Aleppo pepper and Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto were added to the serving pieces after they were taken off the heat.

Costco's pesto topping an egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon, fresh organic spinach, reduced-fat cheese and salsa. A 22-ounce jar of Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, which must be kept refrigerated, was $7.99.

Teterboro Costco

Even though the Hackensack Costco is so popular that parking and shopping there can be an ordeal, I haven't spoken to anyone who is looking forward to the opening of a bigger Costco near Teterboro Airport.

The new Costco is under construction in a shopping center off of Route 46, and still is scheduled to open in the fall. Hiring for the bigger store begins in September.

In the absence of official information, I've been questioning employees in Hackensack about the new store, which is 3 miles away from the old one.

On Thursday, I was told that, yes, the new store will have a liquor license and carry alcohol, including Kirkland Signature Wines, such as a wonderful California Cabernet Sauvignon and Prosecco from Italy at low Costco prices.

When I asked a couple of months ago, I was told no liquor license, no Kirkland Signature Wines.

But it doesn't look like the Teterboro Costco will offer wheel alignment to members who buy new tires.

A few months ago, we bought new Michelin tires for one of our cars at the Hackensack Costco, then had to make an appointment at another tire dealer to have the wheels aligned.

Boycott Walmart

The new Costco will be in a shopping center with a Walmart, which has already opened.

I am boycotting Walmart to protest its mistreatment of workers.

And I'll have no use for a Costco gas station in my all-electric car.

I'm not looking forward to driving 10 miles round-trip to Costco, compared to my 4-mile round-trip now.

Let's hope the new parking lot will be designed better.

Now, lazy shoppers stop their cars dead so they can wait for a space close to the doors, blocking the main entrance to the lot in Hackensack.

Picking up more than a few of my favorite things

My first visit to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack after a brief vacation netted fresh wild sockeye salmon fillet, Tropicana Orange Juice, beefsteak tomatoes, bottles of mango nectar, Greek Yogurt, a seedless watermelon, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, clothing for my teenage son and other items.

That night, I prepared the wild salmon with Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto that I had in the refrigerator, and served it with organic brown rice and prepared sweet-potato salad, all from Costco.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

It wasn't difficult to drop nearly $200 at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on Tuesday during my first visit after a brief vacation.

I spent $95 on clothing, and the rest on food:

Earthbound Farm Organic Sprinx Mix, 1 pound for $4.99; a large seedless watermelon, $5.49; Kirkland Signature Greek Yogurt, 2 32-ounce cups for $6.99; fresh, wild sockeye salmon fillet, up $2 in recent weeks to $11.99 a pound; 3 half-gallons of organic, low-fat milk for $10.19; and other items.

At checkout, a woman in front of me was so impressed with a 5-pound box of Sunset-brand hothouse Beefsteak Tomatoes ($6.39) she saw in my cart that -- without asking -- she actually picked up one to examine it.

An open-face omelet made with Kirkland Signature Egg Whites.

Campari Tomato, bottled Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and sliced, reduce-fat Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese dress up another egg-white omelet, served over brown rice.

More favorites

On Wednesday, in Englewood, I stopped at Balthazar Bakery on South Dean Street for 2 fresh baguettes, still $2 each.

Then, I drove the half-mile or so to Jerry's Gourmet & More, where I picked up 2  Meals To Go, cut to $5.99 after 4 p.m.

Normally, the restaurant-quality dinners are $7.99.

At home, I plated tender calamari tubes stuffed with shrimp and arugula, penne alla puntanesca, fresh artichoke salad and eggplant caponata, and re-heated them gently in the microwave.

I poured myself a glass of Italian red wine, and allowed myself a couple of pieces of crusty baguette.
 
My son enjoyed Jerry's Chicken Cordon Bleu, Spinach Lasagna and a Ham & Cheese Monte Cristo, but passed on the Brussels sprouts and baked cauliflower that came with the dinner. 

Balthazar's baguette has a living crust: It's crispier in dry weather.

A bowl of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

Kimchi and coffee

Also on Wednesday, I visited the Englewood building where Arirang Kimchi is made by hand, and learned the Oh family will be moving the operation to a Ridgefield shopping center in the next few weeks.

On Thursday, I dropped into the Target in Hackensack, where an employee said the store's small food court is being replaced by a Starbucks and a Pizza Hut.

They should be open by the last week in September, she said.

The licensed store would be the second Starbucks in Hackensack.

There is a company owned Starbucks on Essex Street, near the medical center, but the city still needs one close to the Bergen County Courthouse and law firms, and there are a couple of vacant storefronts that would do nicely within a block or two.

Salted codfish

On Monday, in Englewood, I picked up medium boneless salted codfish at the ShopRite for $6.99 a pound, compared to $8.99 a pound at Costco.

Jersey Blueberries were 2 pints for $4.

The tart-sweet blueberries are great with the sweet seedless watermelon I bought at Costco.

No need to thump the melon unless you plan to make music with it.

I look for the biggest, heaviest watermelon I can find; the exterior was a paler green than others, but it was perfectly sweet inside.

The blueberries also are wonderful in a breakfast "parfait" made with Greek Yogurt, Hemp Hearts, Black Chia Seed and Organic Blue Agave nectar -- all from Costco.

Parchment paper

To roast fish or chicken, I now use Kirkland Signature Parchment Paper to line the pan.

Meat or seafood doesn't stick to the paper so I don't have to use spray oil, as I did with aluminum foil, which is more expensive.

With chicken, I use two layers of paper to handle all of the juices, but one layer is enough to roast wild salmon or other fish.

I also use parchment paper to roast the sodium-free raw almonds I buy at Costco, and use the paper over or recycle it. 

I was never sure whether the aluminum foil was recyclable.
 

Wild salmon with ripe peaches, tomato and sweet plantian

Costco Wholesale's wild sockeye salmon, top, roasted with fruit and capers.

By Victor E. Sasson

Editor

The fish and fruit spend a total of 20 minutes in the oven, roasting at 375 degrees. 

You need only a few other ingredients: fresh lime juice, rinsed capers, cinnamon and ground Aleppo red pepper or paprika.

Chopped fresh herbs would be nice sprinkled over everything, but they are optional.

Cut up two ripe peaches, a beefsteak tomato and a sweet plantain, and place them  on parchment paper in a pan large enough to accommodate both fish and fruit. Dust them with ground Saigon cinnamon and Aleppo red pepper. The pan goes into the oven for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cut up the salmon fillet; season with lime juice, cinnamon, ground red pepper and capers; remove the pan with the roasted fruit, add the fish and roast everything together for 10 minutes more for medium. The salmon will continue to cook after you remove the pan from the oven. 

I bought a 1.6 pound skin-on fillet of fresh wild sockeye salmon at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on Monday, making sure the fish was packed that day ($10.99 a pound).

I used 2 peaches, a beefsteak tomato and a sweet plantain with a leathery, black skin.

The finished dish is sweet, savory, spicy and sour all at the same time. 

The sweet peaches and plantain are nice foils for the rich, heart-healthy salmon, especially when eaten together.

Serves 4.