Recipes Worth a Mint

Enlarge Image Image Gallery The light flavors of fruit mint touch this Grilled Salmon Fillet with Pineapple Mint Mango Salsa, accompanied by Roasted Balsamic Onion Rings with Apple Mint. Photograph by Joe Coca

THE ROLE OF MINTS has changed over the centuries. We no longer use them to pay taxes or strew their stalks on the floor to mask bad odors. Today, mints belong in the kitchen—and not just for garnishing. Their uses go far beyond the traditional pairing with lamb and flavoring for jellies, teas, and juleps.

The ancient custom of concluding feasts by chewing a sprig of mint to settle the stomach and cleanse the breath persists today in the form of breath mints, but there’s no reason why a hostess can’t offer bright green sprigs of fragrant, fresh mint to nibble on after a meal. They are available, attractive, and inexpensive, especially if you keep a mint plant in your kitchen or on the patio.

With these recipes, I’ve been experimenting with some of the fruit-flavored mints, and I’m finding them almost as useful as the spearmint I’m more accustomed to using. Try substituting fruit mints in recipes that call for mint, such as lemonades and juleps, summer fruit salads, mint sauces to top fruit or ice cream, and vegetable dishes such as peas, carrots, and potatoes that need a flavor boost. Fill a vase with fresh fruit mint sprigs to permeate your kitchen with a clean, pleasant fragrance.

Grilled Salmon Fillets with Pineapple Mint Mango Salsa

Serves 6

A hollowed-out pineapple half makes a festive serving bowl for this fruity, refreshing salsa.

Salsa
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple (1/2 medium pineapple)
11/2 cups peeled, chopped, fresh mango (1 medium mango)
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 green onions, chopped
11/2 tablespoons minced fresh pineapple mint leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

11/2 pounds salmon fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh pineapple mint leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pineapple mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Combine the salsa ingredients at least several hours or as long as 2 days before serving, cover, and refrigerate.

Pat the salmon dry. Mix the salt, pepper, and pineapple mint together, and sprinkle the mixture on both sides of the salmon. Pour the olive oil in a nonstick skillet or griddle and heat it on medium high. Sauté the salmon for 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness, or until done (the flesh should just be opaque—do not overcook).