Before I got to know this For the Love of Food contributor, I used to see him all the time in the study room and cafeteria of the all girls residence that I lived in during my first year of university. "Who the hell is this guy, and why is he always hanging out here?" I wondered. "What a weirdo!"
Over the next couple of years, he kept reappearing in many places I frequented. He was almost like the tall African man that Albert Markovski kept running into in I Heart Huckabees, except my constantly reappearing tall African man was Jewish and had a bit more of an olive complexion.
Three years afterwards, on my first day as a design editor of the campus newspaper, I found out that my co-editor was, to my surprise, none other than the Tall Jewish fellow. That day, I found out his name - Benji Feldman.
Over that year, and the many following, I got to know Benj a lot better. Having 3 older sisters, he has no choice but to be a ladies man. He's funny to a fault, is always someone that I can discuss obscure musicians with, and an amazing photographer to boot. And even though he says to the contrary, he's a fantastic cook.
Recently when I went to go visit Benj in Nagoya, he made me an amazing salmon dish for a traditional Shabbos dinner. For those of you not in the know (as I was prior to Benj's explanation), Shabbat is traditionally the day of rest, where you reflect on the occurrences of the week. Typically you have a huge feast including bread (a challah), a salad, a fish (usually gefilte fish), a sip of Dalwhinnie whisky, a meat dish, soup, and desserts. However, that resources were a bit limited in Japan for recreating a proper Shabbos dinner, some variations were made. Instead of challah we had yam and red bean bread. Instead of a salad, we had some boiled veggies. And to substitute for the gefilte fish, Benj made a fantastic baked salmon. The flavour was phenomenal - slightly sweet, but with a hint of garlic. Benj shared with me his Shabbos salmon recipe, which I have listed below:
Ingredients:
4 small salmon steaks
two cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
two green onion stocks, sliced
salt & pepper, to season to your liking
honey
approximately 1 tbsp of oil
Small baking pan, covered with tin foil
Shabbos (optional)
Directions:
1. Put a thin layer of oil on the baking pan.
2. With your slices of garlic, layer the baking pan.
3. Wash your salmon, and place it on top of the garlic on the baking pan.
4. Cover the salmon with the remaining garlic slices, green onions, and as much pepper and salt that you like.
5. Pour the honey on top until salmon is completely covered.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until fish is cooked to your liking. If you slice through the fish, the inside should still be a little bit pink, with the outside edges a lighter shade of pink.
