Making My Mom’s Salmon My Own

When I was a kid, my harried mom adhered to a small repertoire of easy weekday dinners. She worked full-time but made it home before my dad; getting us fed each evening fell entirely to her. My mom loved to eat, but you wouldn’t have known from our school-night dinners (hot dogs and frozen veggies, pasta with jarred sauce, bland baked chicken breasts and toughly broiled pork chops).

Then, one evening, towards the end of my elementary school years, my mom debuted a new dish: a side of salmon, slathered in mustard and mayonnaise, then grilled. The colors were bright. The flavors, big. The fish — itself something of a pocketbook splurge — suggested luxury rather than utility.

My mother died when I was 21. And while there are many things I miss about her, her cooking isn’t one. This past summer, though, I found myself craving that salmon. All those years, I’d never attempted to make it myself. Maybe I thought doing so would make me miss her too much. Maybe I was just snobbish about the idea of hot mayonnaise. I decided it was time to give it a go.

I made a few tweaks, substituting Dijon mustard for my mom’s yellow, and using wild Alaskan salmon rather than the farmed stuff my mom used to buy (the former is leaner and fishier-tasting, and can stand up to big flavors). For color and complexity, I added lots of fresh herbs, and roasted my salmon in the oven rather than cooking it on the grill.

I tasted the finished product tentatively, skeptical that my rendition could conjure the pleasure I remembered from childhood. I needn’t have been. Under its creamy cap, the fish had remained extra moist. The mustard lent zip; the herbs, texture and freshness. The salmon was delicious. I shouldn’t have been so surprised; it always was. It’s been on heavy rotation on my dinner table since.

Salmon With Mustard, Mayonnaise, and (Almost) Any Herbs
You can use any combination of herbs (dill, parsley, basil, cilantro, thyme, scallions, chives, green garlic) that appeals to you, but I recommend using at least two — dill, basil, and green garlic is my favorite combo to date. If you have extra, chilled salmon makes for excellent leftovers.
Serves 3-4

1 pound side of salmon (wild preferred)*
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ tsp. kosher salt
a few twists of the pepper grinder
1/3 cup fresh green herbs, chopped, plus more for serving

Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 400°F.

Line a rimmed sheet pan or large baking dish with parchment paper, and lay the salmon out on the pan. (If your dish is too short to accommodate the fish’s length, cut the fish horizontally to divide it in two.)

In a small bowl, use a flexible spatula to mix together the mustard and mayonnaise, and season with salt and pepper. Then gently stir in the herbs, and use the spatula to spread the mixture evenly across the top of the fish. Slide into the oven and roast 12 to 15 minutes, or until just cooked through. (Cut into the fish’s thickest part to check for doneness. You’ll know the salmon is ready when it has become flaky all the way through, and the hot pink hue of the fish in its raw state has turned to a muted pastel). Sprinkle with herbs and serve hot.

*Sides of wild Alaskan salmon tend to be no thicker than an inch at their thickest point. The general rule for cooking wild-caught salmon at this temperature is 12-15 minutes of cook time for each inch of thickness. If your salmon is farmed rather than wild, it will likely be both fattier and thicker, and your cooking time may need to be adjusted accordingly.

Sara B. Franklin is a writer and professor at New York University. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Literary Hub, and The Nation. Her latest book is The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her twins.

P.S. Dad’s meatloaf and nine family meals we’ve loved to death.