Blackened Salmon with Bruschetta & Garlic Aioli, and Some Cast Iron Care Tips

This is a replica of a memorable sandwich that I had at a restaurant. It was so good that I devoured it before offering my husband a taste (he loves salmon). I recreated it at home so he could try it, and now it is a favorite.

The bruschetta and garlic aioli sound fancy, but they take just a few minutes to make. There should be enough left over to use in recipes for several days. They do taste best if you can let them rest for at least 30 minutes before eating.

The lightly blackened fish cooks in under 10 minutes, so this whole thing can be on the table in around a half hour.

This is a very impressive sandwich for the amount of time spent.

Blackened salmon can be cooked in cast iron, or any heavy pan. Some people find cast iron pans to be a little intimidating. More on that after the recipe.

This recipe is a bit more dense than what I normally post here when you include the bread. If you don’t want to have this as a sandwich, you could leave out the bun, and have the bruschetta and aioli over the salmon.

Cast Iron Daily Maintenance

No matter how orange and rusty the pan looks – you did not ruin it.

Cast iron is virtually indestructible.

It has some health benefits, too. If you struggle with anemia (the bane of my existence), cast iron can contribute a substantial amount of iron to your food.

Here are some daily care tips:

• If your pan is brand new, break it in by cooking bacon. The grease makes a nice first seasoning.

• Don’t wash your pan with soapy water as part of the daily maintenance. Instead, just wipe out the food left in the pan, and scrape out any stuck-on remaining bits. You can use a touch of warm water to help things along if you’d like, but no soap. After you scrape, just buff the pan with a bit of oil, and you are good to go.

• If you have stuff that is really stuck on there, you can dump some salt and oil in the pan and buff it off. It also helps if the pan is a little warm.

This tool is critical:

Lodge makes one. You can also get 4 packs of no-name scrapers for around $8 on amazon. They never wear down. (Not only can you clean your pans, but they are amazing on granite counters. Scrape them off, wipe down with a touch of rubbing alcohol, and countertops look brand new.)

Cast Iron Re-Seasoning

You can probably get away with re-seasoning very infrequently if you follow the daily care instructions above. If the pan starts getting sticky or turning rusty – it is probably time.

If you cook fish in the pan – I would highly recommend re-seasoning afterward to eliminate any odors.

Re-seasoning is the one occasion where you do want to wash your pan with soapy water.

This pan obviously wasn’t too bad, but this is what it looked like after washing and scouring:

And after re-seasoning:

Here is how to do it:

1. Scour the pan with steel wool. Use a bit of warm water and some dish soap. Scrape off every remaining bit of food or carbon with the steel wool or a scraper.
2. Dry the pan thoroughly.
3. Put some oil on a rag and massage all over the pan, inside and out. Use only a thin layer – don’t allow the oil to pool on the pan.
4. Bake at 450-500°F for one hour.
5. Allow to cool.

If you run a towel over the pan, the towel should come away clean. This indicates that your pan is now seasoned.

If you are trying to resurrect some flaming red rust monster that’s been sitting in a basement for a decade, you can repeat the oil/heating process several times over. When you are finished, the pan should look brand new.