Crispy Skin Salmon with Miso Butter

Course: Main Dish

1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
2 tbsp white miso
3 tbsp unsalted butter softened
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Shichimi Togarashi (red pepper mix) you can use an alternative to give a bit of a bite
3 tbsp sesame seeds toasted
3 scallions cut into thin rounds
1 lb skin-on salmon fillets cut into 8 ounce portions
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place grated fresh ginger into a small bowl. Add miso, butter, rice vinegar, and brown sugar. Whisk well to combine and set aside.

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium. Toast the sesame seeds, tossing frequently, until seeds are a light golden color and slightly fragrant, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
Lightly season the salmon fillets on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet. When pan is hot, place salmon portions into pan skin side down. Heat skillet over medium and let the salmon cook for about 4 minutes.
Press down lightly on flesh to ensure all parts of the skin are making contact with the pan. You should see opacity at least halfway up the flesh side. Continue to cook skin side down until fish is mostly opaque and skin is crispy, about 5 minutes longer.
Gently flip the fillets, then remove the pan from the heat. Continue to cook off-heat (the pan will still be plenty hot) until flesh is just cooked through, about 1 minute longer depending on fish thickness.
Spoon miso sauce onto plates. Place salmon fillets skin side up on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.

The Japanese spice blend, Shichimi Togarashi is the perfect blend to use in this recipe, but if you can't find it you can use a dash of cayenne.