Savory and Stylish Salmon Criollo at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
For my daughter Florence Paget’s birthday, my husband Laurent and I offered her a celebratory meal at Villa Azteca in downtown Salinas, California.
We began our meal with guacamole salad – mashed avocado with red bell pepper squares and chopped cilantro mixed in. I like the black, volcanic stone dishes that the guacamole comes in. As we ate the guacamole, I admired the milagro (miracle) cross collection hung on the wall by the entryway.
Florence and Laurent ordered steaks while I ordered a heart-healthy salmon dinner.
The dish I ordered was called salmon criollo. This was broiled salmon that was served on a bed of stewed black beans with cubes of baked butternut squash strewn around it. Chipotle crema came with the salmon and two warmed soft corn tortillas.
A pickled radish slice and sliced jalapeño sat on top of the broiled salmon with its ashed crust of broiled skin. (Maybe a kitchen blow torch was used to make the skin this way.)
I placed slices of salmon in one tortilla along with the black beans, jalapeño, and butternut squash along with some chipotle cream. I twisted the end over once so my salmon taco would not leak out the end.
I just loved the flavor trio provided by the squash, beans, and maize (corn) that is indigenous to the American Southwest and Mexico. The salmon indigenous to the Pacific Northwest of the US is very good, too. The salmon and the beans, squash, and maize together provide protein and other important nutrients like selenium for thyroid health, Vitamin C, and antioxidants that remove cancer causing free radicals.
I used the second tortilla to do practically the same combination but used the pickled radish slice in this taco. The pungent radish made the savory ingredients seem fresh rather than cooked and gave it the plus of providing a fermented food to the taco.
I ate the remaining black beans, butternut squash, and salmon with equal gusto with the remaining chipotle cream.
The salmon criollo was delicious and might appeal to diners trying to maintain weight without sacrificing flavor.
Note: There is a garage nearby at the Steinbeck Center and street parking as available.
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-family genealogist - whose work includes mother lines research editing my grandmother Pennington’s recipes and writing Monterey County Cookbook about my Monterey Peninsula California kitchen
-developer of 9!music theory games
