Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Chermoula Sauce

the appetizer:

Beer and food make a great combination in The Anheuser-Busch Cookbook: Great Food, Great Beer, with recipes like Étoufée with Sausage and Shrimp; Cuban Pork with Pineapple; and Grilled Salmon with Chermoula Sauce.

Grilled Salmon
with Chermoula Sauce

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Serve with a Doppelbock, such as Brewmaster's Private Reserve

Chermoula Sauce

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds green or yellow zucchini, trimmed and cut crosswise
into pieces 1 inch thick
2 red bell peppers (about 1 pound total), stemmed, seeded,
and cut into 1-inch squares
1 whole boneless salmon fillet (about 3 pounds), skin intact
Lemon wedges

1 Soak 8 to 10 wooden skewers in water to cover for 30 minutes. Prepare a grill for cooking over indirect heat. First oil the grill rack. If using a charcoal grill, light 50 to 60 briquettes and let burn until covered with ash, 20 to 30 minutes, then mound them to one side. Place a drip pan on the side cleared of coals—this is the indirect heat area. Set the oiled grill rack in place. If using a gas grill, turn all the burners to high and close the lid. When the temperature inside the grill reaches 350 degrees to 400 degrees F, lift the lid, turn off one of the burners, and lower the other burner(s) to medium. Place a drip pan under the turned-off burner—this is the indirect heat area. Set the oiled grill rack in place.

2 To prepare the chermoula sauce, in a bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, garlic, salt, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk.

3 In another bowl, combine the zucchini and bell peppers and drizzle with 2/3 cup of the chermoula sauce, tossing to coat. Thread onto the soaked wooden skewers, alternating zucchini and peppers.

4 Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Using tweezers or needlenose pliers, pull out the pin bones. Lay a doubled sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil slightly larger than the salmon on a 15-by-12-inch baking sheet. Lay the salmon, skin side down, on the foil. Trim the foil to within about an inch around the salmon, then fold the edges over and up to form a slight rim. Spread the remaining chermoula sauce evenly over the salmon.

5 Slide the salmon and foil off the baking sheet onto the grill rack over the indirect heat area. Lay the vegetable skewers directly over the heat. Close the lid. Cook the vegetables, turning once, until browned and tender when pierced with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the skewers from the grill, close the lid again, and continue to cook the salmon until opaque but still slightly pink and moist-looking in the center of the thickest part (cut to test), 10 to 15 minutes longer.

6 Using a large, rimless baking sheet or several wide spatulas, transfer the foil and fish to a serving platter or board. Tuck the edges of the foil under the fish. Set the vegetable skewers alongside, garnish with the lemon wedges, and serve.

Cook's Tip: You can prepare the salmon and vegetables in advance (steps 2 through 4), then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours before grilling. If available, use Hungarian or Spanish paprika for the chermoula sauce.