S&S GAME PLAN

Brown Butter
Maple Salmon

with Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes & Roasted Green Beans

Golden salmon basted in nutty brown butter with a sweet-savory maple glaze, crispy smashed potatoes and roasted green beans. Big flavor without turning date night into a cooking competition.

Brown Butter Maple Salmon with crispy garlic smashed potatoes and roasted green beans on a seaside date-night patio

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SERVES

2

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PREP

20 MIN

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COOK

35 MIN

★

DIFFICULTY

★★☆☆☆

WHAT YOU’RE MAKING

Brown Butter
Maple Salmon

Crispy Garlic
Smashed Potatoes

Roasted
Green Beans

THE DRINKS

Cucumber Gin Collins

PER PERSON
2 oz gin
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup
3 cucumber slices
2–3 oz club soda
Ice

Put the cucumber and simple syrup in the bottom of the glass. Muddle gently. Add ice, gin and lemon juice. Top with club soda and give it a stir.

Learning Point — Muddle “Muddle” just means gently press the cucumber against the bottom of the glass to release the flavor. You’re making a cocktail — not interrogating a vegetable.

WHAT YOU NEED

Brown Butter Maple Salmon

2 salmon fillets, about 6 oz each
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp white or yellow miso paste
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Tiny pinch kosher salt
Black pepper, to taste

Secret Weapon — Miso
Don’t let the name scare you. Miso is just the salty, savory ingredient that makes the maple glaze taste like you know something everybody else doesn’t.

Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes

¾ lb baby potatoes
1½ Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Roasted Green Beans

8 oz fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Gear

Large skillet — nonstick or stainless steel
Medium pot
Sheet pan
Flat-bottom drinking glass
Tongs or fish spatula
Large spoon
Small bowl or ramekin
Fork or small whisk
Chef’s knife + cutting board
Measuring spoons
Instant-read thermometer

BEFORE SHE GETS THERE

Trim the green beans and slice the green onions. Get the knife work out of the way now.
Mix the miso, maple syrup and minced garlic in a small bowl. Cover it and leave it ready for the salmon.
Wash the baby potatoes and get the pot, sheet pan and flat-bottom glass where you can reach them.
Chill two Collins glasses. Stick them in the fridge now. Tiny move. Looks suspiciously like you know what you’re doing.
Get the cocktail stuff together: gin, cucumber, lemon, simple syrup, club soda and ice. Looking prepared is sexy. Digging through the fridge while she stands there is not.
Set the table. Kill the overhead lights. Lamp, candles, music. Date-night rules apply.
Clean as you go. Nobody has ever looked at a sink full of dirty pans and thought, damn, this guy has his shit together.
6:40 — Get yourself ready. Take a shower. Put on a clean shirt. Easy on the cologne — she’s coming over for dinner, not to see if you’re sponsored by Axe.
Keep the salmon refrigerated for now. It doesn’t need to sit on the counter for an hour waiting for its big moment.

Kitchen looks ready.
Drinks look ready.
Make sure you do too.

PLAY BY PLAY

BOIL THE POTATOES
Put ¾ lb baby potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Add ¼ tsp of the kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until fork-tender, about 15–18 minutes.
SMASH THEM
Drain the ¾ lb baby potatoes and let them steam dry for a minute. Put them on the sheet pan. Use the bottom of a flat drinking glass to gently press each potato down and give the glass a slight twist. Don't turn them into mashed potatoes. We're going for smashed.

Using the bottom of a flat drinking glass to gently smash baby potatoes on a sheet pan

HOW TO SMASH POTATOES Line the potatoes on the sheet pan and use the bottom of a flat glass to gently push down and twist slightly. Be gentle enough that the potato stays together instead of exploding across the pan.

MAKE THEM CRISPY
Heat the oven to 425°F. Drizzle the smashed potatoes with 1½ Tbsp olive oil and season with ½ tsp garlic powder or granulated garlic, the remaining ¼ tsp kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Roast until the bottoms and craggy edges are golden and crispy, about 20–25 minutes.
S&S SAVE
Potatoes still soft when the salmon is ready? Leave them in the 425°F oven for another 5–8 minutes. Dinner isn't ruined — you're just giving the potatoes their damn moment.
GET THE GREEN BEANS IN
Toss 8 oz trimmed fresh green beans with 1 Tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Add them to the oven for the final 12–15 minutes. One oven. Two sides. We're not opening a restaurant.
MIX THE GLAZE
Stir 1 Tbsp white or yellow miso paste, 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup and 1 large finely minced garlic clove together until smooth. It won't look like much yet. That's fine. The secret weapon is about to earn its keep.
DRY THE SALMON
Pat 2 salmon fillets, about 6 oz each dry and season with a tiny pinch kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt — the miso already brought some.
BROWN THE BUTTER
Put 2 Tbsp unsalted butter in the skillet over medium heat. Swirl it around for about 2–3 minutes. When you see little brown specks and it smells nutty, turn the heat down to medium-low. Brown is good. Black means you got ambitious.
SEAR THE SALMON
Put the 2 salmon fillets in flesh-side down. Cook about 3 minutes without screwing with it. When the surface is golden, flip it.
GLAZE + BASTE
Spoon the glaze made with 1 Tbsp miso paste, 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup and 1 large minced garlic clove over the cooked top of each fillet. Tilt the skillet so the 2 Tbsp browned butter collects on one side. Spoon that hot butter and glaze over the salmon again and again for 3–4 minutes, until the salmon is glossy and cooked through.
YO DUDE!
Watch the sides of the salmon. When the flesh has turned mostly opaque and the center just flakes when you press it with a fork, you're there. Don't keep cooking it just because you're nervous.

LEARNING POINT — WHAT THE HELL IS BASTING? Tilt the pan so the butter and glaze collect on one side. Scoop it up with a large spoon and pour it over the salmon. Repeat. That's basting. Fancy word. Very simple move.