Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with Peach Cucumber Salsa (Inspired by Dubrovnik)

You can find fresh fish throughout Croatia, but it was the highlight of every menu we saw in Dubrovnik. We had the freshest sushi since living in Okinawa at Oyster and Sushi Bar Bota, and a few delicious dishes at the more affordable Lokanda Peskarija in the harbor. Ever since we were in Dubrovnik, I’ve had grilled fish on my mind. At some point I imagined salmon with a teriyaki sauce and fresh salsa made from seasonal fruits at the market and basil from our yard. It came out even better than I hoped – the flavors are simple but perfect together. Our whole family loved it!

Happy summertime from Croatia!

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with Peach Cucumber Salsa

about 1.5 lb salmon filet, skin on
1/2 lemon, squeezed (about 2 TBS)
2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS high quality soy sauce
2 TBS honey
1 very ripe peach, rinsed & finely diced
1 very ripe nectarine, rinsed & finely diced
1 cucumber, skinned & finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 lemon, squeezed (about 2 TBS)
handful of fresh basil, chopped

Note: When picking out peaches and nectarines, choose only yellow varieties; white peaches and nectarines have more sugar but they also have more water and will be mushy and make the dish runny. Yellow fruit holds much better. The fruit that is soft on the top around the stem hole (your finger can leave a slight indent) is ripe. These are the ones you want! I actually left mine sitting on our table for a couple extra days to the point of almost spoiling. They were the sweetest and most juicy peaches and nectarines we’d ever tasted.

Preheat the grill. We have a wood fire oven so it takes nearly an hour to preheat but creates a really nice smokey flavor.

Rinse and pat dry the salmon. Sprinkle a dash (1/16 TBS) of fine sea salt over the salmon and set aside. Combine the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, soy sauce and honey together in a small bowl. It’s important to use fresh garlic instead of canned! Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over the salmon so the whole filet is covered. Set aside the rest.

Combine the peach, nectarine, cucumber, red onion, lemon juice and fresh basil in another bowl. Set aside to let the flavors marinate.  Grill the salmon until it is just cooked through (usually 5-10 minutes). Be careful not to overcook it – you know it’s done when it easily flakes when pressed with a fork. Drizzle another 1/3 of the teriyaki sauce over the salmon as soon as it’s off the grill. Serve the rest of the sauce on the table to individually spoon over the salmon once plated. Top with the fresh salsa and serve with a good white wine. We drank a Fakin 2010 Malvazija from the region of Istria.
Enjoy!!