Spice it up!

The time has come, my online cooking class is now LIVE and available for registration on Craftsy!!! Just got to:

http://www.craftsy.com/…/cooking-with-spices-technique…/5163

I hope you enjoy watching the class as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

One of the features of the Craftsy platform is that the online students can ask me, the instructor,questions. They are sent to my Craftsy inbox and I can respond to them when I log in to my instructor account. I've already had a few, it's been fun to see what the students are curious about so far. During the process of developing the class, one of the most frequent questions I got was how to use certain spices and techniques, particularly the spice powders, for different dishes than what we presented in the individual lessons. I've even had a question along these lines from one of my Craftsy students. So with that in mind, this week's recipe showcases another use for chili powder.

We spent an entire lesson on chili peppers, and those of you who have been following the blog these last couple of months will remember the posting where I made chili powder from scratch. For that post, I made a traditional Texas beef chili, but since then, I've been really enjoying using the chili powder in my everyday cooking. It makes a great spice rub for any kind of grilled meat. So, for this week's recipe, I thought I'd try it on salmon. I hope you enjoy it.

Chili Rubbed Salmon with Grilled Nectarine Salsa

Serves 4

For the salsa:

2 nectarines, cut in half and pit removed

2 tablespoons canola oil

¹/₃ cup thinly sliced green onions

¼ cup diced radish

½ cup diced, seeded English cucumber

½ cup sliced grape tomatoes

2 serrano chili peppers, seeded and finely minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For the salmon:

4 salmon filets, about 6 ounces each, skinless and pin bones removed

2 tablespoons Texas chili powder

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons canola oil

To make the salsa: Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Using a silicone brush, lightly coat the nectarines with the oil. Place the nectarines on the grill, and cook, turning as needed, until they are well marked and beginning to soften. Transfer the nectarines to a cutting board and dice.

Place the nectarines and the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper.

To make the salmon: Season the salmon filets with salt and pepper and sprinkle both sides with the chili powder. Heat a skillet over medium to medium high heat, and when hot, add the oil. Place the salmon filets in the skillet skin side up and cook until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the salmon filets over and continue to cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the filets to individual serving plates.

To finish, spoon some of the salsa over each of the filets and serve immediately.