This is a recipe I picked up one fall back in Najera, a land I spent about sixty years in. I had an adopted boy named Piotyr that I cared for and when fishing was good, harvests were good, and life was calm I would make this for dinner. I love harvest time because there's so many herbs and fruits and seeds and things one can find (or purchase easily) even in lands where the whole refrigeration and cross country shipping thing is an impossible dream.

I have altered the recipe considerably as there aren't any red-sour pods on earth, or milk-nuts, or kassa-herbs. They did have honey in Najera though, you just had to gather it from stickbirds instead of bees. Plus, there are electric ovens here instead of hearths and clay-bakes.

So, here it is...

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, for garnish


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard, and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.

Brush each salmon fillet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a wedge of lemon.