Cast Iron Seared Pike with Braised Mustard Greens and White beans

I do a similar meal but use salmon instead of pike and kale instead of mustard greens.  Either way, this is a very simple, delicious, nutritious meal.  From the WSJ.  Serves 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

½ pound bacon, chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

8 cups loosely packed mustard
greens, stemmed and roughly
chopped (or escarole)

Salt and freshly ground black
pepper

¾ cup chicken stock

2 cups cooked white beans
(see recipe online)

1½ teaspoons butter

4 pike fillets (or salmon or lake

trout), 6 ounces each

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
(or vege table oil)

1 cup firmly packed chopped

mixed fresh herbs

(e.g. parsley, tarragon,

watercress), stems removed

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon olive oil

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon and brown for about 2 minutes. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Add garlic and fry for about 30 seconds. Add greens and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add stock to greens and bacon. Cook for 1 minute, then add cooked white beans. Once beans are warmed through, after about 1 minute, fold in butter. Scrape beans-and-greens mixture into a bowl, along with its cooking liquid. Set aside and keep warm.

4. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper on both sides. Wipe off cast-iron pan and place it over medium-high heat. Add grapeseed oil and then fish. Brown fillets for 1½ minutes on each side. Transfer pan to preheated oven and cook fish for 3½ minutes more. Meanwhile, put herbs in a small bowl and add lemon juice and olive oil. Toss and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

5. To serve: Spoon the stew of beans and greens onto a platter. Top with fish fillets and garnish with dressed herbs.

Steamed Salmon with Leeks, Shiitake, and Soy

Easy easy easy and delicious....I only use wild caught salmon but if you're into price, then use Atlantic.  It doesn't have the nutritional value as wild caught, but you ain't eating red meat! Serves 4

• 4 6-oz. boneless, skin-on salmon fillets (about 1-1/2 inches thick; preferably wild-caught)
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white or black pepper
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic (from 3 medium cloves)
• 1/2 cup halved and very thinly sliced leeks (white part only), rinsed (from 1 large)
• 2-1/2 oz. shiitake mushrooms (about 8 medium), stemmed and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 Tbs. peanut oil
• 2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Rinse the salmon and pat completely dry. Put the fillets skin side down in a shallow, 9-inch-wide, heatproof bowl or baking dish and let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the salmon with the red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper, and then sprinkle with the garlic, leeks, and mushrooms, in that order.

Add enough water to a 14-inch flat-bottom wok (preferably well-seasoned carbon steel) to measure 3/4 inch deep.

Put a 12-inch bamboo steamer in the wok. Cover the steamer and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Uncover, and then carefully set the bowl of salmon in the steamer. Cover the steamer and steam until the fish is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Check the outer pieces of salmon for doneness first by poking the thickest part with a chopstick or fork to see if it flakes. Using a spatula, transfer the outer pieces to a serving platter and continue to cook the inner two pieces for another 1 to 2 minutes, if necessary. Carefully remove the bowl from the wok and transfer the remaining salmon and any accumulated juice to the platter.

TIP:

If you don’t have a bamboo steamer, set a round metal rack with legs at least 1-1/4-inches high (so it’s elevated above the water) in the wok, put the bowl of salmon on the rack, and then cover the wok with its lid.

In a small skillet, heat the peanut and sesame oils over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Drizzle the salmon with the soy sauce, and then carefully pour the hot oil mixture over the fish—it’s likely to crackle and splatter a bit. Garnish with the parsley and serve immediately.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with Triple-Sesame Jasmine Rice.

nutrition information (per serving): 
Calories (kcal): 350; Fat (g): 18; Fat Calories (kcal): 160; Saturated Fat (g): 3; Protein (g): 39; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 7; Carbohydrates (g): 5; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 7; Sodium (mg): 560; Cholesterol (mg): 105; Fiber (g): 1;

PHOTO: SCOTT PHILLIPS

Fiery Sweet Glazed Salmon Filet with Cucumber, Avocado and Jalapeno Salad

Nothing like a little fire to cut through the fat of the salmon.  I learned to love sweet on salmon from a trip to Alaska.  From Texaspete.com:

• SALMON INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 side Salmon
• 2 cups + 1 cup (for basting) Texas Pete^® Fiery Sweet Sauce

• SALAD INGREDIENTS:
• 1 each cucumber, small dice
• 2 each avocado, medium dice
• 1 each jalapeño, minced
• 1/2 each red onion, small dice
• 4 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

• SALMON PREPARATION:
• Marinate Salmon in Texas Pete^® Fiery Sweet Sauce for 30 minutes. Utilize medium high heat; grill or plank Salmon until internal temperature reaches 145° F. Brush liberally with additional Texas Pete^® Fiery Sweet Sauce.

• SALAD PREPARATION:
• Combine all ingredients & gently fold together. Serve alongside Salmon.

Pappardelle with Salmon and Leeks

I'm not that big of a fan of pasta and seafood unless it's linguine and clams.  But this is delicious.  I always use wild caught salmon never farm raised.  I still like the flavor of Cojo or King salmon better.  Although farmed is less expensive.  You make the choice. If you can't find pappardelle pasta, buy fresh lasagna sheets and cut into inch wide strips.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 
  Preparation
• 3/4 pound uncooked pappardelle pasta
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided $
• 2 large leeks (1 pound), trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh savory or 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced fresh mint
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 cup dry white wine $
• 1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
• 1 (1-pound) fresh or frozen sustainable salmon fillet
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1. 1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid; keep pasta and cooking liquid warm.
2. 2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks, savory, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 15 minutes or until leeks are translucent, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Add stock; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, reserved cooking liquid, parsley, and lemon rind.
3. 3. Sprinkle salmon fillet with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter; swirl until butter melts. Add salmon fillet, and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Flake the salmon into large chunks. Arrange 1 cup of the pasta mixture on each of 6 plates, and top evenly with flaked salmon. Serve immediately.

415 calories, 13.7g fat, 23.7 g protein, 47.2g carbs, 2.6g fiber, 45mg chol, 349mg sodium

Domenica Marchetti, Cooking Light
MARCH 2013

Cameron Stove Top Smoker

This is one of my all time favorite cooking gadgets, the Cameron Stove Top Smoker.  I bought mine about 5 or 6 years ago and I use it all the time.  It is particularly great for smoking salmon.  Easier than all of those little papers (yuck yuck).  I actually had a fishmonger tell me that.  Anyway, you can use it on your stove top (duh) but be sure you have adequate ventilation because some smoke does escape.  Don't want to set off the smoke alarms.  During the summer, I put it on my gas grill.  It comes with several containers of different wood shavings i.e. apple, cherry, mesquite.  And, of course, recipes.  I found that if you want to cook pork, smoke the pork FIRST, to almost done, and then finish in a hot pan to give it that great caramelization.  They cost about $50 for a large and $25 or so for a small.  I have the large one.