Salmon spread with toasted bread rounds or pita: Great Omega’s 3’s and Astaxanthin

We are back with the series for healthy skin. Another great food is salmon packing  omega 3’s the good fats and the new kid on the block- the carotenoid astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant extract from marine algae which prevents aging in the skin. Wild salmon especially sockeye,  has 400 times more astaxanthin than farm raised and we should add this into the category of anti inflammatory molecules. It’s that singlet oxygen quenching, we want to have by consuming a diet of carotene, in bright orange vegetables, salmon and fruits. A 6 ounce portion of salmon provides 3.6 miligrams of astaxanthin but consumed a couple of times a week with bright orange and yellow  vegetables and fruits will provide a healthy dose of good skin nutrition.

Away from the chemistry let’s get cooking; I found a French recipe called a rillettes ( pronounced reyette), A recipe of flaked salmon with shallots, butter or olive oil, fresh tarragon and white wine.

• 1 lb or 2 filets of sockeye salmon
• 2 shallots
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil or 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon leaves

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Salt and pepper the fillets. Place in a ceramic dish or lined cookie sheet with foil and splash a little olive oil over the fish. Bake for 25 minutes until fish flakes with a fork. Remove from the oven. Let cool. In a medium sauce pan, saute chopped shallots and butter or olive oil until soft about 3 minutes and add the vinegar, lemon juice and white wine, reduce by half., another 5 minutes. Mix with the salmon and flake with a fork or place in a food processor and lightly mash for 30 seconds. Serve with toasted bread rounds, pita or crackers as an appetizer.