Citrus Caramelized Leeks Over Grilled Salmon
There are times when circumstance and the ingredients on hand bring out the creation of a dish. So it was during the height of the citrus season when we were inundated with oranges, possessed leeks which needed to be used, and happened to have just purchased half a fresh salmon.
Per the Glutton household food motto, “Why Not?” we threw all three ingredients together to make a simplistic, over-the-top gluttonous dish that could easily be enjoyed for brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Now fresh salmon is good salmon, but the addition of caramelized leeks that are brought to life by the juice of an orange promote a harmonious culture of happiness in one’s mouth. Topping the leeks and salmon with an over-easy or poached egg not only doubles your protein intake, it sends the dish in the gluttonous zone, as the egg’s yolk gently covers and enhances the already present palate pleasing flavors.
Bottom line: Make this dish and be happy. Then make the bonus recipe below and be happier.
Note: To make this a Weight Watchers friendly dish simply exclude the egg and butter.
The Necessities:
- 3 leeks
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 orange
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Salmon filet
- 1 egg over easy or poached
- Fresh finely chopped chives (optional)
- Non-stick spray
Directions
- Slice the leeks in half lengthwise.
- Leeks are dirty creatures, so be sure to wash out the dirt, etc linger in the folds.
- Roughly chop the leeks and onion.
- Toss the onions into a large frying pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and sprinkle the onions with salt. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the onion are slightly translucent (use non-stick spray if onions begin to stick in pan)
- Add the leeks and butter to the pan. Generously season with salt and pepper.
- This will take some time, so saddle up with a libation of choice and continuously stir the veggies every few minutes.
- While the veggies are cooking down, slice that orange of yours in half.
- When the leeks begin to slightly brown and stick to the pan, stir in the juice from one half of the orange. Again continue to be mindful of the veggies and stir.
- As the leeks continue to cook down begin tasting them, adding the juice from the second half of the juice and season with salt and pepper until the desired citrus/sweetness level has been reached (I prefer using the entire juice of one orange). The mixture is ready when the leeks are softened.
- What about that salmon? Set up your grill for direct cooking and preheat to high.
- Drizzle some olive oil over the filet and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon skin side up on the grill and give the filet a quarter turn after 2-3 minutes to achieve “grill marks.”
- Flip the salmon and continue to cook until the desired internal temperature has been reached…we prefer our salmon medium-rare.
- Plate the salmon and top with a healthy heaping portion of the citrus caramelized leeks.
- Top with an egg over easy or poached egg and garnish with chives. Enjoy.
Bonus Recipe….
Just in case you have leftovers, here is a bonus recipe using the leeks for breakfast:
The Necessities:
- Leftover Citrus Caramelized Leeks
- Bread
- Eggs over easy, sunny side up or poached.
- Shredded Cheese
- Fresh finely chopped chives (optional)
The Directions:
- Slice up some bread and toast em.
- Cover the toasted slices with desired amount of shredded cheese.
- Top with egg(s), citrus caramelized leeks, and a few chives.
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Omit the eggs and butter? Are you crazy? Look at that dish. I’d omit nothing. It’s perfect. I adore leeks. The ones in my garden are just about ready to pull up and I can’t wait to have fresh, home-grown leeks with something. Maybe this? Wow, it looks good.
Thanks Christiane and I also prefer to omit nothing.
john is doing the shopping after work so i am going to put in an emergency call for salmon, this is a fantastic dinner and i have everything else in the fridge just waiting.. Butter is one of the most important dishes on the planet.. bring on the butter i say, lets cook like granny did.. c
Hope the call got to John in time and that you enjoyed this dish!
Mmmmm, all of these gluttonous recipes sound amazing, Jed. I first had a poached egg over smoked salmon a few years ago in a salad that sent me over the edge. I’ve been making it ever since, but I love this take on it. And the caramelized leeks on crostini, wow. I would add crumbled goats cheese, but that’s just me.
Goat cheese?? Oh yes that could be very good indeed. Thanks for the idea!
Poached egg over Salmon…sounds incredible. I can’t wait to give this a try.
Take my butter, bit hands off my egg. Love this and the family motto.
Using the motto on a daily basis can take you to some interesting places.
Incredible!! I’m loving your family motto as well. Great outlook! This meal looks and sounds divine, Jed.
Thanks Caroline!
I’m so hungree
Reblogged this on Limeisbetter and commented:
I’m so hungree
Ahhh!! I want!
I’d have been happy with the grilled salmon with caramelized leeks and nothing more. Adding the citrus was a step in the right direction but the poached egg, oh, my! What a great dish! And add some bacon to that breakfast and I won’t even mind that there’s no hollandaise. Promise!
How did I forget the bacon?? I won’t make that mistake twice!!
Salmon is good, leeks very good, but this is the leaking yolk from the egg that has just hypnotised me. I must remember to make this excellent recipe for a weekend brunch. Thanks for sharing.
That yolk is captivating isn’t it??
Hope you are able to try this.
Whoa, now this is the right way to treat a filet of salmon. Love the topper. The runny egg, flakey fish, citrusy mix…oh no, I now have a craving for this and there is no salmon in sight! Delicious post!
If needed, I do have the number for a worldwide emergency salmon delivery service.
sounds absolutely amazing + i dig the addition of the overeasy/poached egg – nothing wrong with a little added decadence! also, i love the way you come up with menu ideas based on what’s in season/in the house – some of my favorite recipes have come from moments just like that!
Thanks Amy!
First of all, these both look so good! Second, love the family motto. Third, bonus recipes can’t help but make anybody happy.
Weight watchers? Nope, not ringing any bells with me! I was really excited when I read this recipe as I have all the ingredients…salmon, check – oranges, check – eggs and butter, check, check, check!!!
Butter is like bacon…makes everything better. Liz does restrict some of the butter usage in this house though.
This recipe looks marvelous!
I must say my fav is the bonus recipe
PS: I’m loving the WW tips… very helpful
Thanks Giovanna…I’ll keep mentioning the points.
I love leeks and this recipe looks amazing… but I have to say I’m disappointed. I came here today fully expecting some commentary on Sean Payton.
Terribly sorry to disappoint my friend. How about a scathing post on Peyton Manning instead?
Sold!
I love any dish with onions. The salmon looks perfect. I need to eat that NOW.
OMIT the eggs and butter?! Never!!!
The caramelized leeks sound great with this too.
I concur as the pairing of the three ingredients is simply awesome!
Ooh la la! Brilliant meal good for a brunch, then lunch followed by another serving for dinner!
Mandy
Thank for the linky too.
You got it Mandy!
I have never put citrus with leeks but I’d love to try it. I think the citrus with the salmon would go wonderfully together. It looks like an incredible dish and congrats on using what you had to come up with something special xx
What can I say…I got lucky.
Sounds delicious, I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for visiting and for the comment!
What a lovely little hidden poached egg in there! Yum!
Oh the EGG!!!! I’m making this recipe this weekend for sure!
You won’t be sorry!
Sounds great Jed. I sounds like a deconstructed hollandaise sauce the way you topped it. Yum.
Thanks Karen!
You are mean Jed. You did take it to the gluttonous category with the added egg bonus, but it’a fabulous “topping”. Thanks for the tips on the grill marks. Love it. I didn’t know the 1/4 inch turn does it. Cool. Your leeks look perfectly carmelized and I would most certainly love that for breakfast the next day.
Just doing my job as the top glutton on wordpress…I am the top glutton right?
look tasty… i like the fried egg the most.. haha. especially you make the yellow spill out a little bit, make me to think about doing it tonight.
I love leeks- they liven up any dish without overpowering it! This looks delicious.
Its been a while since you posted some food! I missed it and I loved how you prepared that salmon, looks so good
[...] a phenomenal recipe for citrus caramelized leeks served over grilled salmon topped off with an egg (click here for a refresher). Well building off my new found addiction to caramelized leeks I experimented [...]
I love your idea of caramelizing leeks with citrus! I’m going to try that, for sure!
I tried this recipe on our dinner tonight, I grilled two slices of salmon and I discovered that it is easier to grill salmon than to bake it. I omitted the egg because I kinda became lazy to cook further, but my! my! your recipe is really good, everyone enjoyed the delicious taste of this recipe. Thank you for sharing