In a typical week Margulies eats cooked and raw salmon about five times, as well as a diet full of antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, nonfat Greek yogurt, and green tea. But the real joy comes from how these foods make her feel, and the joy she gets from preparing them. “Cooking is very therapeutic,” she says, “and if you follow recipes, you’ll get it right and learn every time you cook.”
Speaking of which, Margulies is sharing her crispy garlic salmon recipe with Glamour as part of our ongoing series That Thing I Always Cook. Bon appétit!
Julianna Margulies’s Crispy Garlic Salmon With French Green Beans and Mama Rice
Ingredients
Raw salmon
Salt and pepper
Minced garlic
Olive oil
1 onion
Slivered almonds
Rice
Chicken broth
French green beans
Instructions
Take the salmon out of the fridge at least a half hour before you cook it. You want all fish, meat, and poultry to be at room temperature before you put heat to it; that way you get the full flavor.
Rinse and pat dry the salmon, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Then rub freshly minced garlic all over the flesh side of the fish.
Put the remaining minced garlic in a heated pan with olive oil. Get the garlic cooked to just browning and then, skin side down, place the salmon on top of the garlic at very high heat. This sears the garlic to the skin and makes the skin crispy. Then turn the heat down a bit after about 2 minutes, since you don’t want it to burn.
When the salmon cooks halfway through, flip it over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it sit in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. You never want to overcook salmon, or it will get rubbery. You want it to be medium-rare. It will still cook even though the heat is off because the pan is still hot.
For the rice, I sauté one chopped onion in a little olive oil until translucent and put it in a bowl to the side. In the same pan, I roast slivered almonds—about a handful. Just roast them in the pan on medium heat until they are a nice golden brown. Put them in the same bowl as the onions.
I like to cook rice in chicken broth for more flavor, but water is fine too. Once the rice is cooked, it needs to sit for 10 minutes. Then throw the bowl of onions and almonds into the pot of rice and stir it up. Put the lid back on the rice and let it sit until the rest of your meal is ready.
For the French green beans, just wash and dry them. Add a very little amount of olive oil in a pan, heat it up, and throw on the beans. I like to use a little Maldon salt flakes for seasoning. Only cook the beans until they are vibrant green—about 6 to 7 minutes—because you don’t want soggy beans; you want them crunchy.
