On the Table: Maple Dijon Glazed Salmon

I learned an interesting fact recently: apparently Maryland has a strong maple sugaring heritage.  In fact, there is an annual event at Cunningham Falls State Park dedicated to maple syrup in Maryland, and this year it occurred over the past two weekends.  Sadly, I did not make it to the event, but in the spirit of the season, I decided to use some maple syrup in a recipe today.  I used Vermont Maple Syrup, since that is what I had on hand, but I plan to try some from Maryland soon!  To make the maple dijon glazed salmon:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Whisk together equal parts pure maple syrup (I used Grade B, since that has the strongest maple flavor, but Grade A Dark Amber would work as well) and dijon mustard.  Whisk in a dash of ground ginger.  For each filet, you will probably want 2-5 tablespoons of glaze: 2-3 tablespoons will give a very light glaze, while 4-5 tablespoons will give a thicker, richer glaze.  Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray and lay the salmon filets in the dish, skin side down.  Pour the glaze over the filets, using a spatula to make sure the entire surface gets covered.  If desired, top the filets with panko breadcrumbs (you may want to briefly toast or saute the breadcrumbs separately to develop their flavor, before putting them on the filets).  Put the salmon in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the fish is flakey (the exact cooking time will depend on your oven and the thickness of the fish, so start checking doneness after about 10 minutes).

I did half a filet with (untoasted) breadcrumbs and half without, and both turned out great!  FYI - I went lighter on the glaze (about 2-3 tablespoons for this filet), so a larger amount of glaze would produce a heavier coating than that seen here:

Enjoy!