Balsamic-Glazed Salmon with Roasted Compari Tomatoes

My take on Giada De Laurentiis' Balsamic-Glazed Salmon

Similar to my Italian "Stir Fry," Giada pairs the acidity of balsamic vinegar with the richness of salmon to create the perfect marriage. Always a lover of tomato and balsamic, I did a little editing and topped each piece of fish with a roasted Compari tomato and garlic.

Balsamic-Glazed Salmon with Roasted Compari Tomatoes (makes about 4 servings)

• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Sushi Chef Mirin (Giada uses maple syrup, which I'm not a fan of)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Olive oil (in a spray bottle, if you have it!)
• 4 (6-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets, skinned
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 roasted Compari tomatoes (recipe follows)

Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 400 degrees.

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, Mirin, mustard, and garlic to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until thick, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Spray or brush a small baking sheet with oil. Arrange the salmon fillets in a single layer on the sheet and drizzle both sides with olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Top each fillet with one or two roasted Compari tomatoes (recipe below). Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily when prodded with a fork.

Transfer the salmon to plates and drizzle with the glaze.

We served it atop a bed of Basmati rice, which is rather my go-to side for many saucy dishes such as this! I like to just mix everything up so the flavors are sure to intermingle with each and every bite :)

Roasted Compari Tomatoes

It can't get much easier than this...

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Slice each tomato in half and place, cut-side up in a baking dish or roasting pan, ensuring a couple inches are left between each so the liquid will evaporate rather than steaming the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and top with a sliver of garlic.

Bake for about half an hour or until tomatoes are roasted down to your liking!

You can really do this with any tomato you please; your cooking time will simply vary. And, honestly, you can let them go for much longer than the recipe states and it will take a decent amount of time before they'll start to burn since the temperature is so low.

I recommend doing this in bulk when tomatoes are cheap and in season...then freeze them and have loads on hand for last-minute toppings and sauces! For the salmon, I pulled the tomatoes right out of the fridge and they simply needed to bake with the fish to come back to temperature :)

Enjoy!