Pan-fried salmon with balsamic soy reduction

My parents went to a restaurant last night and apparently the fish my mom ordered, well, smelled fishy. So today while I was at the grocery store staring down the empty lobster tank with sad puppy eyes, my mom called & asked if I could make my special salmon for supper. It was like she read my mind or something!

The salmon was meant to be... (Well... I meant to get trout since there is less fat, but the butcher had started cutting the salmon already & I didn't want to be a pain in the arse) I also picked up a box of cherry tomatoes called "Gourmet mix" that got 4 different shades of colors: red, orange, yellow and some funky green & red stripey ones. They look awesome!

Start with the balsamic soy reduction first, 'cuz it needs time to reduce itself... (Really? Did that make any sense?)

Balsamic soy reduction

• a dash of olive oil
• a couple cloves of garlic, chopped in chunks
• 1 cup balsamic
• 1 cup light soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• a few shake of herbes de provence
• black pepper
• a few sprinkle of sea salt (I used home-made lemon zest sea salt***)
• a few sprinkle of sugar (I used home-made lemon zest sugar*** but you can also use any other sweet like honey or maple syrup)

Put everything in a small pot, bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low heat and leave it alone for 30 minutes or so. Stir once in a while. At the end, feel free to adjust it to your taste of course.

While that's cooking, place the filets of salmon (in my case, three) skin side down on a big plate and sprinkle each with

• a few shakes of garlic powder
• a couple of shakes of herbes de provence
• a pinch of sea salt

And let them sit for about 30 minutes.

On medium high heat, swirl a couple dashes of olive oil in a big pan to cover the surface well. Then placed the filets into the pan, skin side up, while constantly shaking the pan slightly for the first 20 seconds so the fish doesn't stick to the pan. Continue searing for another minute. Flip them over, carefully, shake again, then cover the pan & let cook for another 4, 5 minutes, depending on how pink or how cooked you want your salmon to be.

Midway into cooking, place whole tomatoes into the pan. Sprinkle some sea salt on them, cover and continue.

Serve with rice or whatever you prefer. Spoon balsamic soy reduction on top. Enjoy!!!

***homemade lemon zest sugar and salt: when I bought that load of lemon last time, the juice went into ice cube trays, and the zest, I split them and put into a jar of sugar, a jar of salt. They smell amazing!!!!