Salmon Sandwich with Two Yummy Salads

Portland, Oregon is one of my favorite towns in these United States. Individuality and a lack of pretension combine on the banks of the Willamette River to produce one of the most innovative food scenes in the nation, it’s not just bacon maple doughnuts either. Phil and I spent last weekend in Portland visiting with dear friends and touring craft distilleries for our upcoming piece for Mutineer Magazine*.

One of the distilleries we checked out was House Spirits where the incredibly knowledgeable assistant distiller Matt Mount took us through the in’s and out’s of this impressive distillery. We did a bit of sampling, though at 11:00am, it could only be a tiny bit and learned about some great spirits I had never tried before. One of the spirits in question was their Krogstad Aquavit. From what I understand most Aquavit has a very strong dill flavor, but one of the things about House Spirits is that they don’t want to do the expected. The dominant flavors are of caraway and star anise. I was astonished at how crisp and clean the flavor was and intrigued by the combination of spices that I couldn’t leave without purchasing a bottle.

One of the things the good people of House Spirits are trying to encourage is the pairing of spirits with food and so I thought I’d get into the spirit of things and give it a go. Although this weekend I plan to head on over to Ballard to invade the Scandinavian markets for accompaniments to my Aquavit, Phil and I had a taste for some yesterday so I decided to whip up a few things to serve with this refreshing drink. I chose ingredients to compliment and balance the anise and caraway, while staying in the realm of refreshing flavors. Enjoy!

Salmon Sandwich

16 oz Wild Salmon, de-boned cooked and flaked

1 Cucumber, diced

1 TBS Shallot, finely minced

1/4 cup Real Mayonnaise

2 TBS Fresh Lemon Juice

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Sea Salt, to taste

Your choice of sliced bread, sandwich roll, buns or even pita

Gently mix your ingredients together in a bowl and use to fill bread of your choice.

Serves 4

Radish Salad with Dill

2 Radish Bunches, sliced paper thin

1 TBS Shallot, minced

1/2 cup Greek or Natural Yogurt

2 TBS Fresh Lemon Juice

1 TBS Dill, chopped

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Sea Salt, to taste

Mix all the ingredients except for the radishes together in a medium sized bowl. Toss in the radishes and serve.

Serves 4

Carrots with Fennel Seed

6 Carrots, shaved using a mandoline or peeler

1 1/2 tsp Fennel Seed, toasted and roughly crushed (can be substituted for caraway if it suits you)

2 TBS Olive Oil

2 TBS Rice Wine Vinegar

Small blob Dijon mustard

Sea Salt, to taste

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients except for the carrots together in a medium sized bowl. Toss in the radishes and serve.

*The article featuring craft distilleries of the Pacific Northwest will appear in the June/July issue of Mutineer Magazine.