Alina's Grilled Salmon with Nectarine-Red Onion Relish

On the 4th of July I perused our local market, Brennan's, for foodie inspiration. It's a form of tabula rasa grocery shopping, if you will. There are recipe cards everywhere, so I pick those up, eat gobs of samples, and try to come with an open mind and a sensitive palate.

This time the nectarines were chin-dripping decadent, so I decided to make Brennan's suggested nectarine-red onion relish. The salmon was the perfect thing to integrate into our 4th of July cookout and the result was... pure fireworks.

Read the original recipe here.

Total time: Just over 2 hours. About 20-25 minutes active cooking time. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nectarines (about 3 medium)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup coarsely chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp grated orange rind (I ommited this)
• 2 tbsp minced jalepeno pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 4 6-ounce salmon filets
• Cooking spray

Mix the first 11 ingredients and 1/8 tsp salt in a medium bowl and stir well. Let this stand for 2 hours.

Sprinkle salt and pepper of the salmon. Grill the salmon (5 minutes on each side or until flaky). Serve immediately with the delicious relish!

The nectarine relish is really delicious, but when paired with the salmon it's dynamite.

Adam's taste rating: 4 ladles
Alina's taste rating: 5 ladles
Healthy rating: 5 ladles
Ease of prep rating: 4 ladles
Overall average: 4.5 ladles