Pan Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach

Posted on | September 1, 2009 | No Comments

My fishmonger had some beautiful wild caught Coho Salmon fillets and I couldn’t resist this sweet fish. People seems to have some trepidation when cooking fish. The two most difficult things to master with fish, salmon in particular, is touch and doneness. Touch has to do with the actually feel of the fish when lightly pressed with the index finger. Doneness has not only to do with touch but also carry over cooking time and I will discuss that in a moment.

If you think of a raw hamburger patty for a moment, imagine the feel when pressing your finger into the raw meat. There isn’t much of a rebound and it leaves a hole where you’ve pressed it. Now picture that patty cooked well done. If you press this one, it rebounds leaving no indentation. Animal proteins all have this built-in cooking indicator.

The degree of doneness can be measured by how well that protein rebounds to a finger poke and can be learned over time. The other thing to remember is what I call “pan to plate” time. It is the time it takes for a food to go from heat source to plating and presentation. In that time, foods will continue to cook because of the retained heat. So, a fish pulled of the grill perfectly cooked will be overcooked by the time it is ready to eat. Therefore, slightly under cooking a protein is better than over cooking it.

Salmon is is low in Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin B6 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein, Niacin, Vitamin B12 and Selenium. It is also strongly anti-inflammatory.

Pan Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach

This can be served with a side of brown rice or couscous as a nice compliment to the fish.

10 ounces Salmon, cut into two even pieces
drizzle of cooking oil (sunflower, corn, olive will all work)
1 bunch fresh spinach leaves, washed and drained
Salt and Pepper to taste

Lightly rub both pieces of salmon with oil lightly coating. Season with salt and pepper.

In a non-stick pan over medium heat place fish pieces face down and cook for approximately two minutes until slightly golden. Rotate to each side cooking for approximately 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly pressing a finger into the fish feels slightly firm to the touch. Remove from pan and set aside. Place spinach into the pan and allow to cook until slightly wilted, approximately 1 minute.

Plate and enjoy.

Makes 2 servings

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