For those who don’t know me, my name is Cindy and I reside in Eagle River, Alaska. I love to cook, and seem to go through spells of being creative and challenging myself, and being in a rut cooking basic things like grilled fish and steamed vegetables. I love to bake, but as I try to lose weight I find myself cooking more with the fish and shrimp that stocks my freezer. That’s one of the advantages of living in Alaska, having a boat, and a husband who loves to fish.
Today is my first posting for the Flavors challenge, the first of fifty-two. I’m really looking forward to this challenge, as I think this challenge will make me a better cook. We will learn about our key ingredients, their flavor profiles, seasons, and their most complimentary ingredients. Then we will develop our own recipe which you’ll see here along with photos of our completed dishes.
As Deborah told you yesterday, our first ingredient is PLUMS. I decided to pair those plums with the following complimentary ingredients: ORANGE JUICE AND ZEST, ginger, mint, olive oil, red onions, black pepper, and prosciutto. I’m starting off using a lot more than the 3 required ingredients. Each week, I’ll let you know what complementary ingredients I have used, and I’ll also list them as they are in the book-either BOLDED IN CAPS, bolded, or just plain type.
I really enjoyed this recipe. The saltiness of the proscuitto contrasts perfectly with the sweetness of the plums. The salsa is also made more flavorful with the addition of fresh mint and ginger. The salsa sounds like it has a lot of ingredients, but they blend really well and make a flavorful salsa that would also go well with chicken or pork.

Proscuitto-Wrapped Salmon with Plum Salsa
Serves 2
2 6-oz salmon fillets
2 slices proscuitto
1 teaspoon olive oil
Plum Salsa (recipe follows)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lay proscuitto in single layer on plastic wrap.
3. Season the salmon fillets with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Place the salmon fillet, skin-side up, in the center of each piece of proscuitto. Wrap the ends of the proscuitto around the salmon, pressing it onto the salmon skin to seal.
4. Heal 1 teaspoon olive in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the fish, skin side up, until the proscuitto is browned. Turn the fish over and place the pan in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.
5. Place the fish on a plate and top with the Plum Salsa.
Plum Salsa
2 plums, chopped
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1/4 of a jalapeno, finely diced
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons fresh mint, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix all above ingredients together. Season lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.