Serve salmon for Fourth of July

Serve salmon with pepperoncini lemon sauce on Fourth of July

Throughout New England, the traditional entree of choice for dinner on the Fourth of July was salmon served with a side of peas. This happy pairing capitalized on the region’s seasonal bounty — it just so happened that the salmon were running and fresh peas were at their peak at the very moment America paused to celebrate its birthday.

There are still ways to honor this delicious tradition even though the East Coast is bereft of wild salmon these days. Wild salmon from the West Coast is widely available (if pricey), as is sustainably farmed salmon, which is not so pricey. (Check www.seafoodwatch.org/ to find good choices.)

My family has always served whole baked fillets slathered with some kind of butter sauce. But this year I’m moving in a new direction: salmon fillets with crispy skin and a Greekish sauce. I was inspired by the crispy-skin salmon that’s become a mainstay on restaurant menus in recent years. The contrast of the fish’s crisp and flavorful skin with its moist and flavorful flesh is a knockout.

But it never occurred to me to attempt it at home until now. It turns out that it’s really quite simple. You just need to make sure the skin is very dry before you cook it. Not only must it be patted down with paper towels, it also has to be scraped repeatedly with a knife to remove any excess moisture. Then all you need is a hot skillet and some oil with a high smoke point. (While the salmon’s cooking, you’ll have to press it down frequently with a spatula to prevent the skin from buckling and shrinking.)

The tart sauce is a snap. It’s a mix — half-yogurt and half-mayonnaise — flavored with lemon, dill, garlic and pepperoncini. (The last-named ingredients are those Tuscan pickled peppers often used to enliven Greek salads with a tiny bit of heat.) The sauce’s tartness provides a welcome contrast

to the fish’s richness. Truthfully, now that I know

this easy and effective technique, it’s how I’m always going to cook

salmon — even when it’s not a holiday.

SARA MOULTON VIA AP Salmon with crispy skin and pepperoncini lemon sauce is shown in this photo.