My cooking brain is sometimes most creative when first given a few desperate (or not so desperate) things with which to work. For example, it’s cool to see there are almost-spotted sweet potatoes on the counter, bell peppers in the fridge shrinking, and come up with dinner. I like a conservative approach to cooking and often think of the old, “Waste not, want not” adage. I’m not perfect at using every tidbit, but I work on it. I hate throwing things away.
Last week I had some olives and peppadews leftover from a birthday antipasti tray and had just bought a bag of frozen, wild salmon fillets — two pounds for $22.00. A real bargain. You know how I love salmon.
Eggplant, red bell peppers (and a few other things) languished–leftover from making a veggie lasagna. I needed dinner in a half hour. I stuck the individually-sealed salmon fillets in a pot of water to thaw and made the nearly-instant couscous. Next, a quick sauté of the eggplant with peppers and onions while grilling the asparagus. 4 minutes in the grill pan for the salmon and I think it was done just about exactly in the time I had allotted. Try this, making the components in the order that suits you:
