Salmon with Kiwi Sauce Recipe

I hate wasting food but sometimes it happens. I buy too much of something or it just gets lost in the back of the fridge. The worst is when I buy a lot of food and then am not home to cook it. Some foods can be saved like mushy bananas that become banana bread. Floppy carrots, onions and celery go in my chicken stock to give it flavor.

I always used to throw away overripe kiwi fruit, but not anymore. In addition to my kiwi cake recipe, I discovered that mashed kiwis make a great sauce for fish. Next time you have overripe kiwi fruit, try mashing it in a bowl and tasting it. It's tangy and sweet at the same time. The crunch of little seeds adds nice texture. I added Asian flavors and put the resulting sauce on top of a simply cooked piece of salmon, but I bet this sauce would be good on halibut, scallops, shrimp or even fried calamari. The sauce keeps in fridge for at least 3 days.

Another way to use mashed kiwi fruit is in guacamole. It has an amazing ability to keep your guac from browning, must be all that vitamin C. What fruits or vegetables have you saved from the compost heap? I'd love to hear your success stories!

Note: When you cook fish you may be frustrated that it is overcooked by the time it gets to the table. Always take the fish off the heat or out of the oven a minute or two before it is completely cooked since it will continue cooking with the carryover heat.

Kiwi Sauce for Salmon
serves 2

Ingredients

2 fillets wild or sustainably farmed salmon, about 12 ounces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, grated or finely mined
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Sauce
1 green kiwi, a bit overripe is fine
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
Sriracha hot chili sauce, to taste, a couple of drops is fine

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place fish skin side down on a foil-lined rimmed sheet pan, season with salt and pepper and rub with grated garlic and ginger and bake until not quite cooked through, about 10 minutes, it may take a few minutes longer if your fish is very thick.

Meanwhile mash the kiwi in a bowl and add the ginger, soy and Sriracha sauce and stir to combine. Plate fish and top with sauce.

Enjoy!

Zespri is sponsoring a kiwi recipe contest, if you have a recipe to submit, find more details here.