Tonight's Dinner: Salmon with pluot-cucumber salad recipe

Summer is my favorite time of year because all the stone fruits are in season. Peaches, pluots and every kind of plum known to man make for wonderful summer snacks because there's just so much you can do with them. You can eat them raw, right out of the fruit bowl; you can chop them up into delicious fruit salads; you can make some wonderful jams; you can even make the most splendidly sweet pies and cobblers. And while these are all perfectly wonderful ideas, the one thing you don't see that often is stone fruits and savory proteins together.

Adding them to a salty protein makes for an unexpected flavor that will have your taste buds doing flip-flops. By simply placing some grilled plums on top of a steak, that steak goes from standard outdoor fare, to restaurant-worthy. And thanks to Fine Cooking magazine, I discovered the same thing can be done with fish.

Salmon with pluot-cucumber salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe pluots, thinly sliced
• 1 Japanese cucumber, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 salmon fillets with the skin

Directions:

1. Combine the pluots, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, one tablespoon vegetable oil and vinegar in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the salmon, skin side down and cook until skin is crispy, about three minutes. Flip the fillets and continue to cook until the fish is opaque and firm to the touch, about two more minutes.
3. Place each fillet on a plate, skin side up. Ladel the pluot mixture on top and serve.

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