One Pan, Two Plates (30 page)

extra hungry?
How about a salad of red leaf lettuce and halved grape tomatoes with a splash of balsamic and a glug of olive oil?

in the glass:
A medium-bodied Pinot Noir is a classic pairing with this rich dish. Pinots can be pricey, but there are a few widely available bottles for low prices, such as Definitive or A to Z.

Citrus-Marinated Salmon

with
HEIRLOOM TOMATO CONCASSÉ
and
GOAT’S-MILK FETA

Concassé
is a French term for something that is coarsely chopped, usually tomatoes. It sounds so much more luxurious than “sauce,” doesn’t it . . . 
concassé
 . . . Well, this is indeed a luxurious dish of colorful salmon marinated in citrus and dill, with a jammy, tomatoey zucchini sauce and feta cheese topping. It goes without saying that you must make this dish in the summer, when local tomatoes and zucchini are ravishingly fresh and delicious.

........

START TO FINISH
25 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
20 minutes

...

serves 2

........

1 tbsp minced fresh dill

Zest and juice of ½ large orange

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

Two 6-oz/170-g skin-on salmon fillets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1 medium zucchini, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced crosswise

2 large, ripe heirloom tomatoes or other in-season tomatoes, each cored and cut into 8 chunks

1 garlic clove, minced

⅓ cup/75 ml goat’s-milk feta cheese (see “It’s that easy”)

1.
Preheat the broiler with the rack in the second position from the top.

2.
In a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the salmon fillets, stir together the dill and both citrus zests and juices. Sprinkle the fillets all over with ¼ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper and add them to the citrus mixture, skin-side up. Set fish aside.

3.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and sauté until it softens, about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and ¼ tsp salt and cook, stirring, until the zucchini begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and garlic. The tomatoes will juice up and soften after a minute or so. Continue to cook the vegetables
until most of the liquid has evaporated out of the tomatoes and the mixture is thick, about 5 minutes. The goal is to make the concassé melt together into a sauce. Taste and season the vegetables with more salt and pepper if it needs it. You may need to reduce the heat if the bottom of the pan threatens to scorch.

4.
Spread the vegetables evenly in the pan, top them with the salmon, skin-side down, and pour the citrus mixture over the fish and vegetables. Immediately slip the pan under the broiler and broil until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 7 to 9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets. Transfer the fish to two warmed plates, top with the concassé and feta, and serve hot.

it’s that easy:
Feta cheese is usually made with sheep’s milk, with a little bit (about 30 percent) of goat’s milk blended in. For the record, full-on goat’s-milk feta is creamier than the sheep’s-milk versions and slightly less tangy. Look for it in the specialty cheese case.

extra hungry?
Something green would be refreshing, like an arugula salad with shaved carrot (just use a vegetable peeler), a splash of lemon juice, and a glug of olive oil.

in the glass:
Look for a bottle of Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages to pair up with this meal. It has the fruit and just enough body to work with the salmon. I like to serve Beaujolais a little more chilled than most reds. Just pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes while you’re preparing the meal. It should be just right by the time dinner is on the table.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Salmon

with
CORN
and
POBLANO SUCCOTASH

There are few food combos as apt as salmon and corn. Especially when paired with a little air-dried ham, spicy chile, and a touch of cream. You’ll love how the prosciutto “shrink-wraps” to the fish and lends its smoky, salty flavor to the creamy corn and chile that lie beneath. This dish is so simple and delicious, you might find yourself doubling the recipe to serve to company next Saturday night. But let them think you slaved in the kitchen for hours. They don’t need to know how easy it was to pull this meal together.

........

START TO FINISH
20 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
15 minutes

...

serves 2

........

Two 6-oz/170-g salmon fillets (see “It’s that easy”), skin removed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 thin slices prosciutto

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 poblano chile, seeded, deribbed, and cut into small dice

Kernels from 2 ears corn or 2 cups/340 g frozen corn, thawed

½ cup/70 g frozen lima beans, thawed

Pinch of cayenne pepper, or more to taste

⅓ cup/75 ml heavy cream (or chicken broth, if you’re watching calories)

1 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil, plus a few leaves for garnish

1.
Pat the fillets dry and sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper (not too much salt, because the prosciutto will be salty). Wrap two slices of prosciutto around each fillet, winding it around from top to bottom. Don’t worry if it doesn’t stick very well; it’ll contract and cling to the fish as it cooks. Set the wrapped fish aside.

2.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet with a lid over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the salmon to the pan and cook until browned on the first side, about 2 minutes. Flip the fish over with a thin-edged spatula and cook the other side until browned, another minute or so. Transfer the fish to a plate. (It will not be fully cooked at this point.)

3.
Add the onion and poblano to the hot pan and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the corn, lima beans, cayenne, and ¼ tsp salt. Season with black pepper and sauté until the corn is almost tender, about 1 minute. Quickly pour in the cream and stir in the 1 tbsp basil. Top the vegetables with the fish, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork when pierced, about 3 minutes. Some of the salt from the prosciutto probably crept into the corn, so taste and season with more salt, pepper, or cayenne if it needs it.

4.
Mound the vegetables onto two warmed plates and top with the fish and a few basil leaves sprinkled over the top. Serve hot.

it’s that easy:
Salmon makes an almost weekly appearance on our dinner table, with one caveat: I avoid the farmed Atlantic salmon when possible. It just doesn’t taste as good as the wild caught coho, king, or sockeye salmon, and the health benefits of the wild fish far outweigh the small uptick in price. An inexpensive source for wild caught salmon is the frozen food case at Trader Joe’s. I periodically load up my freezer so we have an ever-ready supply. A little planning definitely makes for better eating.

extra hungry?
To make this a heartier meal, add another ½ cup/70 g lima beans to the succotash. You could also serve a larger piece offish to that special hungrier person.

in the glass:
The indisputable wine to go with this dish is a buttery, lush Chardonnay. Luckily there are gazillions to choose from. Look for California Chardonnays from the Central Coast/Edna Valley/Santa Barbara area. An often recommended bottling from J. Lohr is a great value.

Pan-Fried Arctic Char

with
GARAM MASALA, BROCCOLINI,
and
YOGURT SAUCE