Baked Salmon with Sauce

I should begin by stating that I really don't like fish very much. If I had my druthers, it would seldom be on my menu.

One of the problems of eating fish these days, is the limited assortment of fish species available in most stores and restaurants. I assume, but do not know, that this is a consequence of the growth of the population and the simultaneous decline of world wide fisheries. Particularly where I live, far from a large body of water, most of the available fish is farmed.

One of the few farmed species that we find acceptable, and which can be cooked without large quantities of additional fat (which is always an issue in this house) is Atlantic salmon. Please note that Atlantic and Pacific salmon are different species of fish, that differ quite a bit in taste and texture. Both of us find the pacific salmon to be hard and more strongly flavored than we like.

We prepare the salmon by marinating 8 oz fillets in Kikkoman teriyaki sauce for an hour. I only use the original variety of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce. I once tried the "Less Sodium" variety and found it to be vile. I have not tried any of the other variants.

I then drain and bake the fillets in an open pan in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.

For a sauce, I mix the following:

6 oz. plain yogurt*

an equal quantity of mayonnaise†

a palmful of dried cilantro‡ rubbed between the hands to crumble it and release the flavor

a heaping teaspoon of ground cumin seed

*The exact type of yogurt is up to you. A regular yogurt will produce a thinner sauce, A Greek style yogurt will produce a thicker sauce. I recently discovered a 6% Plain Yogurt from Snowville Creamery in Pomeroy Ohio which contains 6% butterfat. It is creamy and wonderful. It appears have some distribution outside of its native turf in Southeastern Ohio.

†Go ahead and make your own if you wish. I use Hellmann's (Best Foods West of the Rockies) Real Mayonnaise. People who use Kraft are on their own. People who use Miracle Whip are beyond hope.

‡I have also used dill.