Cooking with my Air Fryer | Baked Salmon.

Born and raised as a Catholic, I've always followed the "Fish Friday" tradition for as long as I can remember. It's when (most) Catholics abstain from consuming meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday in Lent, and eat only fish and/or vegetables. I reckon I learned this practice from my great grandmother, who would also diligently sing the "pasyon" during the Holy Week, year in and year out. 

Before I got my air fryer, our Fish Friday meals would either be bangus (daing, bistek, sinigang, or tinapa), tuna (stir-fried or eaten straight from the can), or good ol' pan-fried tilapia.  Now that I have an air fryer, I have even more options such as Tuna Rice Casserole, Cheesy Baked Bangus, and even the quarantine-famous Sushi Bake. 

Recently, I've learned how to make Baked Salmon (yes, Conti's style), and it's the recipe I'm sharing with you today - just in time for another Fish Friday. :)

Baked Salmon (ala Conti's)

Ingredients:

500 grams salmon fillet

5 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 lemon

salt & pepper

1/2 block cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsps mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup parmesan cheese

For the side dish:

1 pack mixed vegetables 

2 Tbsps butter

Procedure: 

1. Preheat the air fryer at 190° Celsius.

2. In a bowl, marinate salmon with garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, minced garlic, and parmesan cheese.

4. Remove the salmon from the bowl and pat dry with a paper towel.

5. Place the salmon in a baking pan and spread the cream cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top if desired.

6. Set your air fryer to Bake mode and bake at 170° C for 30-25 minutes or until the top is golden.

7. While the salmon is baking, prepare the side dish by melting the butter in a non-stick pan.

8. Once melted, add the vegetable mix to the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. 

9. Serve with the baked salmon.