salmon puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca is so fast, easy, and cheap, that it’s a fine answer to, “What’s for dinner?” most any night since it’s made of pantry ingredients. If you have a little leftover, it’s lovely over scrambled eggs, spooned onto a piece of grilled bread, or eaten cold with a spoon for those in a hungry hurry. In this case, we make a small pot for the explicit purpose of gracing a couple of salmon fillets, which may be even quicker than the traditional pasta. Black olives are usually called for, but since I like kalamata and always have them on hand, I’ve included them in this recipe. Serve the fish on a bed of mashed potatoes, couscous, or rice if you like, cooking these things – and a green vegetable if you like -- ahead of the sauce and warming at serving time. Crusty bread is another option. Need more? This meal is easily doubled or tripled, and you could roast a side of salmon in the oven instead of grilling fillets. If you’re cooking for one, do cook both fillets and eat the leftovers cold or just briefly warmed.

serves 2

Ingredients

For the Puttanesca sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Small yellow onion, diced
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon each dry oregano and dry thyme
3 anchovies, chopped
¼ cup dry red wine
15- ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¼ cup sliced kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capers-rinsed and chopped
¼ cup fresh julienned basil (Can sub parsley) -- garnish for serving

For the salmon:

Olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2 4-ounce salmon fillets

Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and add serving bowls or plates to center rack. Take salmon out of the refrigerator, pat dry, and set aside to warm up a bit while you make the sauce.
MAKE THE PUTTANESCA SAUCE: Into a 2-quart sauce pan, drizzle the oil and heat over medium flame. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and let cook 30 seconds. Add onions and season with a generous pinch each salt and pepper; cook 5 minutes or until softening. Stir in garlic, oregano, thyme, anchovies, and red wine; cook, stirring, for a few minutes until wine is reduced a bit. Pour in the tomatoes and stir in the tomato paste, olives, and capers. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings.
COOK THE SALMON: Heat skillet or grill pan over high heat for about two minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet or brush grill pan grates with oil. Drizzle patted dry fillets with olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and add to pan or grill skin side down. Lower heat a bit. Let cook about 3 minutes until you can see the salmon skin is becoming crispy and the fish appears to be getting done about half way up from the bottom. Turn over carefully and cook another 3-5 minutes or until done until your liking. FDA says 145 degrees F for fish. (I take salmon off at about 125 and let it rest a minute or so, serving it medium.)
SERVING: Add a salmon fillet to each warmed bowl or plate and spoon sauce over. Garnish with fresh basil. Let rest a minute or two and serve hot.

Notes

The timing of cooking the salmon fillets will vary depending on beginning temperature of your fish, how hot your pan is, how thick the fillets are, etc. Undercooking is always better than overcooking as the salmon will continue to cook a little from residual heat after it's removed from the pan and you can always cook a little more, but not a little less. Don’t walk away or start texting or your fish will overcook and dry up from inattention. An instant read thermometer is a good help if you’re just starting to cook fish, but your eyes are your best tool here.