It’s a marriage made in heaven. Even coffee haters will appreciate this pairing.  The baked salmon tastes a bit smokey, and bit cedar-y, not at all like coffee.  This is an easy, healthy, entree to put on the table after a long day, and an easy company-pleasing entree to put on the table during a busy weekend.  It can’t get much easier, actually.  Just make sure you have some good quality salmon steaks on hand. Then rub them, bake them, and enjoy.

Coffee Kissed Salmon

For each pair of salmon fillets (each about 6 oz)

1 T. ground cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. ground coffee (not instant, use fresh coffee grounds-not used!-any kind, caffeinated or decaffeinated, it doesn’t matter)
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, ground coffee, salt and pepper in a small bowl and then rub mixture all over the salmon fillets.  Set fillets aside to rest, 10-20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the salmon, and lightly brush oil evenly over the fillet without disturbing the rub.  Bake fillets in hot oven until fish is cooked (internal temp of 140 degrees), which usually takes 10-12 minutes but depends upon the thickness of the fillets.

This recipe was found in the comments of Facebook’s Epicurious Fan page, under a post from October 22, 2009, titled ‘Our Favorite Cooking with Coffee Recipes’. It is attributed to Rebecca Chanin of WiseChoice, Your Personal Path to College.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!  Try this salmon soon, it will become one of your staples. I am sure of it!