Imagine my delight, and surprise, when I found beautiful black winter truffles from Oregon at my local Central Market store last week. On the heels of our latest Pinot Palooza in Willamette Valley creating a Northwest inspired dinner seemed appropriate, especially to pair with a few of our favorite Pinot Noir wines, like the Stoller Family Estate Reserve,  from the region. Incredible layers of flavor on flavor from the earthy, black forbidden rice melding with a mix of mushrooms and truffle paste topped with lemon and olive oil baked wild Alaskan salmon and simple, aromatic black truffle shavings on top, the dish was almost too pretty to eat, almost.

Recipe:

Roasted Salmon with Truffle and Forbidden Rice
Ingredients:
4 four ounce pieces salmon, skin removed and bones picked
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced and divided
salt and pepper
1 cup black forbidden rice
3 cups low sodium stock (veggie or chicken)
1 small white onion
3 ounces mixed mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon truffle paste (optional if you can find it)
1 small black truffle, if you can find one, shaved into very thin slices
parsley and an additional 1/2 lemon for garnish

Preparation:
Place cleaned salmon in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the zest. Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil to the 1/4 cup white wine and lemon juice then pour over the salmon. Let marinate for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Add remaining oil to a large saute pot over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms and one clove garlic. Saute until softened and slightly caramelized, about 8 minutes. Stir in the rice and coat well with the oil. Cook for a few minutes then add a healthy splash of wine and let absorb into the rice. Season generously with salt and pepper (about half a tablespoon of each.) Add the stock and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for  about 40 minutes until tender.

While rice cooks preheat oven to 400. Take the salmon out of the fridge 10 minutes before you are ready to cook the salmon. Place the salmon in the oven and roast on 400 for 9-12 minutes until just barely cooked through. When the rice is tender stir in the truffle paste and a touch of parsley for color.Remove salmon and divide the rice evenly among 4 plates, top each with a piece of salmon. Squeeze the additional 1/2 lemon over each piece then carefully lay the truffle slices on each piece and serve.