Restaurant (Re)creation: Terzo's Roasted Salmon with Farro, White Corn + Cherry Tomatoes

I always love dining at Terzo, but on my most recent visit, I had one dish in particular that I could not stop thinking about.  It was a perfectly roasted salmon over a bed of sweet corn, tomatoes and farro.  It was mild, buttery, and disappeared within minutes.  I looked across the table at my friend, Courtney, and she said, "you must recreate this."  You ask and you shall receive!  Luckily, I was able to find a great recipe from Bon Appétit to use as a starting point.  Then I swapped out the couscous for farro, and added sautéed white corn.  Though this dish does have a few moving pieces going on at once, it's a relatively simple one-dish meal and is both healthy and totally delicious.  Plus, you'll have plenty of corn and tomato farro for leftovers the next day.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For yogurt raita:

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. chopped dill
• 1 tbsp. chives
• 1/2 tbsp. lemon zest

For salmon:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 bunch dill fronds
• 1/4 bunch thyme sprigs
• 1 lb. wild king salmon
• Kosher salt
• 4 oz. cherry tomatoes

For farro:

• 8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp. za'atar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. butter
• 2 ears white corn, cut off cob
• 1 cup farro
• Kosher salt

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325 F and begin mixing the yogurt raita ingredients in a small bowl.

-Next, pour 2 tbsp. olive oil in a small roasting pan and top with a bed of herbs.

-Place salmon on the herbs and drizzle with the remaining oil.

-Season with salt, top with tomatoes, and roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

-Meanwhile, sauté the corn in 1/2 tbsp. butter and remove from heat.

-Mix the tomatoes, parsley, za'atar, corn, 1 tbsp. oil and salt in a medium sized bowl.

-Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add farro, and cook for 20 minutes.

-Drain farro, transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the remaining oil and butter.  

-Add the tomato and corn mixture to the farro and season with salt.

-Check the salmon and broil for 1-2 additional minutes, or until tender. 

-Cut the salmon and serve on mounds of farro topped with a generous dollop of raita.

Terzo

3011 Steiner Street

San Francisco, CA

(415) 441-3200

www.terzosf.com

Restaurant (Re)creation: Terzo's Chicken Spiedini

~ My Spiedini (Re)creation (both pictured above) ~

I had to start with a Terzo (re)creation because anyone who knows me even a little is aware that Terzo is my home away from home.  I have a minor obsession with the place.  I eat there at least twice a week and they treat me like family.  I love everything on their menu, but my all-time favorite is their chicken spiedini. I cannot tell you the excitement I felt when I saw that Terzo's Chef, Mark Gordon shared his spiedini recipe in an interview back in 2008 (see interview).  I dream about their combo of grilled bread, tender chicken and spicy chimichurri sauce.  I made a few tweaks, but stayed pretty true to the original.  I was surprised by how easy it was and it looked and tasted almost exactly the same as Terzo's version.  That is a sign of a successful (re)creation!  This will become a weeknight staple for sure...

Serving Size: 12 Skewers

Ingredients:

For chicken marinade:

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
• 1 bay leaf crumbled
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed chili flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 splashes sherry vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

For spiedini:

• 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 loaf country white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cut cilantro leaves, coursely chopped
• 12 8-inch bamboo skewers

Directions:

For the marinade: 

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until coursely chopped.

For the spiedini:

Soak the skewers in warm water (so they don't catch on fire!).

Place cubed chicken in a mixing bowl and mix with 2 tbsp (or more) of the marinade.

Place bread cubes in another bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Skewer the pieces of chicken, bread, and onions on each skewer and repeat.

Brush more marinade on the skewers before grilling.

Grill over a BBQ or grill pan until the chicken is fully cooked and the bread is crispy, rotating the skewers so they are cooked uniformly.

Top with extra marinade, a healthy splash of olive oil, and more fresh cilantro.

Note: If you are a carb fiend, you can make a few extra skewers of just the grilled bread (its heavenly)

Enjoy!

Terzo
http://www.terzosf.com/
3011 Steiner St (@ Union)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 441-3200