Grilled Salmon with Tomatoes & Basil

1. Preheat grill to medium.

2. Mash minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt on a cutting board with the side of a chef's knife or a spoon until a paste forms. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in oil.

3. Check the salmon for pin bones and remove if necessary (see Tips). Measure out a piece of heavy-duty foil (or use a double layer of regular foil) large enough for the salmon fillet. Coat the foil with cooking spray. Place the salmon skin-side down on the foil and spread the garlic mixture all over it. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup basil. Overlap tomato slices on top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the salmon on the foil to the grill. Grill until the fish flakes easily, 10 to 12 minutes. Use two large spatulas to slide the salmon from the foil to a serving platter. Serve the salmon sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup basil.

Tips

Tips: Wild-caught salmon from the Pacific (Alaska and Washington) are more sustainably fished and have a larger, more stable population. For more information, visit Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, seafoodwatch.org.

Depending on how your side of salmon was prepared at the market, small white pin bones may still be in the fillet. We suggest removing them before you cook the fish. To remove the bones, place your hand underneath the fillet to bend it up slightly, exposing the row of bones running down the length--they will poke out of the flesh and point at an angle toward the wider end of the fillet. Grasp each bone with a clean pair of tweezers or needle-nose pliers and gently pull it out in the direction of the wide end of the fillet.