Simple Salmon

My father-in-law hates salmon.  If I were an amazing daughter-in-law I would have remembered this, but no, I invited him and his wife over for dinner and chose to make (you guessed it) salmon.  Realizing it and feeling awful half way through the meal, I immediately apologized.  To my surprise, he told me how he actually really liked MY salmon!  Hopefully he wasn't just being nice, but here's the trick to great salmon every time!

 

Ingredients:

· 2 6oz. wild caught salmon filets

· 2 tbsp. olive oil

·Seasonings: Good quality sea salt & pepper, dill seasoning, garlic powder

Directions:

1.      Heat a stainless steel pan to medium high and add the olive oil.  (should be enough to coat the bottom of the pan)  Heat until the oil begins to smoke.

2.       While the pan is heating, dry your filets with paper towel.  Season your filets with salt and pepper, plus the dill and garlic powder on both sides, to taste. (Note: Don't pepper the skin side - only salt)

3.      Add the fish to the pan, skin side down if you have skin, and let cook 2-5 minutes.  If the fish is difficult to flip and sticks to the pan, it's not ready yet.  Flip and continue to cook until desired doneness is achieved.

And there you have it...perfectly crispy & delicious salmon!  Now you can serve it like this, or add a yummy topping like one of the following:

 

Florentine Topping:

Ingredients:

 

• 2 10 oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 tbsp olive oil  
• 1/4 cup diced artichokes (I use the ones in the jar)
• 2 tsp minced garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta

Directions:

Squeeze spinach of all excess liquid. Set aside. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add spinach, tomatoes, artichokes, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring, 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; let cool about 15 minutes. Add ricotta; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pack about 1/2 cup spinach mixture on top of each fillet.