Beth Dooley | Star Tribune (TNS)

Now is the season for wild Alaskan salmon, but you won’t find it fresh in all stores. Once caught, it is blast frozen to lower the core temperature to 40 below, freezing the fish all the way through before the cells begin to break down.

Treated this way, the salmon remains “fresh” for as long as it’s kept deep-frozen. Of the five Alaskan salmon varieties, the three you’ll find in most fish markets and co-ops are king, coho and sockeye. Wild-caught salmon is considered the best choice by the prestigious Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. Farmed salmon, like other livestock, involves crowded manmade environments that can leave the fish susceptible to infections and diseases that require antibiotics.

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Wild-caught salmon that swim in clear, cold water are generally healthier and certainly tastier. These fish are high in Omega 3′s, vitamin D and minerals, especially iron. Because of their natural diet, which is rich in crustaceans, the color and flavor of wild-caught salmon is deep and distinct.

Wild-caught salmon is not inexpensive, but its rich, ruddy, lustrous flesh makes it well worth the price. This fish has so much flavor that it needs little more than a sprinkle of salt, pepper and a few herbs. It’s best to cook it in a heavy skillet (nonstick or cast iron) that’s large enough to not crowd the fish. Set the pan over a hot flame so the fish sizzles on contact. It will brown and crisp without overcooking when transferred to a hot oven.

Toss cherry tomatoes into the pan for pops of color and flavor. Sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs — parsley, basil, thyme — and serve with boiled baby new potatoes and spoon the blistered tomatoes and lush pan juices over it all.

Pan-Roasted Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 4 to 6.

Seek out wild -caught king, coho or sockeye salmon, rich in flavor and deeply colored. This recipe can be easily varied. Swap out extra-virgin olive oil for the butter; and dill and parsley for the basil and thyme. From Beth Dooley.

3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. chopped basil
1 tbsp. chopped thyme
3 scallions, trimmed and sliced in half
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 salmon fillet, 1½ to 2 lb.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the butter, half of the basil and thyme and the scallions into an oven-safe pan just large enough to fit the salmon. Set over high heat on the stove and cook until the butter melts and begins to sizzle.

Add the tomatoes and the salmon to the pan, skin side up, and cook for about 2 minutes. Put the pan in the oven and roast about 3 minutes; remove and peel the skin off the salmon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add a few of the lemon slices to the pan.

Return the pan to the oven and continue roasting until the salmon begins to flake and is cooked through, about 5 minutes. It should register 145 degrees on a digital thermometer. Remove from oven, cut salmon into serving portions and serve with the scallions, tomatoes and lemon spooned over the top and garnished with remaining lemon slices and chopped basil and thyme.

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