RECIPE DOCTOR
Grilled salmon filets with a miso sauce

By Elaine Magee
Knight Ridder News Service

After chatting with the water guy, the waitress and the wonderful people behind the "to go" cheesecake counter, I learned which item menus are some of the top sellers. So each week in May I'll be lightening one of their most popular dishes, starting with Miso Salmon.

This is one of the few Cheesecake Factory entrées made without a lot of extra added calories and fat (besides what's already in the salmon), so my job was mainly to re-create the dish. I loved it at the restaurant and I loved it when I made it at home.

Miso Salmon

• 1 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
• 4 tablespoons light yellow miso (fermented soybean paste)
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 4 salmon filets (about 5 or 6 ounces each)
• 4 servings steamed white or brown rice (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup snow peas

In a small, nonstick saucepan, mix the mirin, miso and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil for 3 minutes, whisking as it boils to create a smooth miso marinade.

Reserve 1/3 cup of the miso marinade and set aside. Pour the remaining miso marinade over the salmon filets in a gallon zip-closure bag or a shallow dish. Let salmon marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour (or up to overnight).

Grill the salmon filets skin side down about 5 inches from the coals or heat for about 14 minutes or until salmon is cooked throughout. You can lightly brown the top of the salmon by broiling briefly in your kitchen oven or by gently flipping the filets over and grilling them, flesh side down, for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, to make a miso sauce for the table, add the 1/3 cup of reserved miso marinade to a small nonstick saucepan and stir in 3 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half and a teaspoon of Wondra flour. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce has reached your desired thickness. Also, add snow peas to a small microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup water, cover and cook on HIGH until snow peas or just tender (about 3 minutes).

Place each serving of broiled salmon over a scoop of steamed white or brown rice and top with a drizzle of the miso sauce. Fan some snow peas on top for garnish.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving (assuming only 1/3 of the marinade is consumed): 265 calories, 30 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 9.5 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat, 3.1 g monounsaturated fat, 4 g polyunsaturated fat), 78 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 380 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 34 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids: 3.6 g. Omega-6 fatty acids: 0.4 g. Weight Watchers 6 points.

Elaine Magee is author of "The Recipe Doctor Cookbook" and "The Flax Cookbook." Write to her through her Web site at www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided.