Garlic Lovers' Salmon

Some years ago now, Peter got me an idea for a garlicky tomato sauce to serve with fish, after one of his December visits to San Francisco and its garlic restaurant, the Stinking Rose. As I've never served the original sauce myself, I had to reconstruct it from Peter's memory, which enterprise probably resulted in a fairly different sauce than the original must have been.

So I think I can safely call this recipe our very own creation: from Peter's input and my creative approach to seasoning a wonderful, yet very simple dish was born, which is on the menu in our home almost every week.

For real garlic lovers only!

Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes. Lately I've been using garlic and oregano seasoned tomatoes, but you can use any kind you like
1 tablespoon olive oil
 4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10-12 large black olives, cut off their pits lengthwise
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
pepper flakes (to tastes, just to add a little heat to the sauce)
salt and pepper to taste

For the fish:
Two 4 oz fillets of salmon (your choice of salmon, we like Sockeye most)
Prepacked salmon and trout rub OR use the following mixture: Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme), 1 clove crushed garlic 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 teaspoon olive oil, salt and pepper
Olive oil for baking

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a glass baking dish, season the salmon fillets with the salmon rub, if using. If not make a paste from the lemon juice, olive oil, Italian seasoning and garlic, season the fish with salt and pepper, then rub the prepared paste over it. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.


In the meantime, prepare the sauce: In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium, add chopped garlic, olives and crushed pepper flakes to the pan, and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the canned tomato, season with salt, pepper, Herbes de Provence, sugar and balsamic vinegar, and cook until reduced, about 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc!