Salmon with Red Pepper Sauce on Salad

This salmon, which features Susan Herrmann Loomis’ Red Pepper Sauce+, isn’t difficult to make, but the sauce does take some time as you must first grill the peppers until blackened. Make the sauce a day ahead if necessary or if you’re really short of time, use jarred roasted peppers. A lovely recipe featuring high summer’s bounty of ripe tomatoes and peppers, you’ll need little else but some crusty bread for a happy al fresco meal. Doubles or triples easily. (You'll have extra red pepper sauce, which is great as a dip, on an omelet, etc.)

Serves 2

Ingredients

Red Pepper Sauce+ (recipe below)

Salad:

2 cups fresh greens
½ pound sautéed or grilled chopped asparagus or green beans
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
½ pound fresh mozzarella log sliced in coins and sliced in half again
4 small ripe tomatoes-sliced
10 large fresh basil leaves-torn in half
Lemon vinaigrette-recipe below

Salmon:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
Sliced scallions for garnish

Instructions

Make the red pepper sauce (recipe below) and set aside.

Arrange the salad:

Scatter the greens evenly over a large round or rectangular platter. Place the asparagus or green beans at the center of the platter. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Layer the mozzarella slices, tomatoes, and basil around the perimeter of the platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle all lightly with the lemon vinaigrette. (Serve rest of vinaigrette at the table.) Set aside — do not refrigerate — while you cook the salmon.

Cook the Salmon:

Heat a large cast iron or heavy skillet(s) over medium heat; add oil and heat until quite hot. Lay the salmon fillets skin side down carefully and season well with salt and pepper. Let cook 4-5 minutes or until quite browned; turn, season again, and let cook another 3 or 4 minutes or salmon is cooked to your liking. (FDA temperature is 145 degrees F for safely-cooked salmon. I like it at medium – 125 degrees F.) You could also grill the salmon.

Arrange the salmon on the salad, add sauce, and serve:

Carefully add the two cooked salmon fillets to the center of the platter on top of the asparagus or green beans. Top each with about 1/3 cup of the red pepper sauce. Garnish with sliced scallions. Serve immediately. Pass remaining Lemon Vinaigrette at the table.

Notes

Red Pepper Sauce:

-Bring 3 cups of water (750 m [3 ¼ cups] to boil in the bottom half of a steamer. Place the garlic in the steamer, cover, and steam until the garlic is completely soft, which will take 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat. When the cloves are cool enough to handle, remove the skin. (See Cook's Note.)

-Purée the peppers and the garlic in a food processor, then transfer the purée to a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring it to a simmer over low heat. Cook just until all of the pepper liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and piment d’Espelette. (Start with ¼ teaspoon each and add more as needed.) Set aside until needed. The sauce will keep for several days in the refrigerator and for up to three months in the freezer. (courtesy Susan Herrmann Loomis, from her book FRENCH GRILL, https://dancingtomatoes.com)

Lemon Vinaigrette:

To a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and season it with a generous pinch each of salt and pepper and a drop of Tabasco sauce. Let it rest 5 minutes. Whisk in a teaspoon of whole grain mustard. Slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, whisking all the time, until well-mixed. Set aside at room temperature until needed.

COOK'S NOTE: To steam the garlic for the red pepper sauce, I put the unpeeled garlic cloves in a small hand held mesh sieve and sat the sieve over a small pot of simmering water. Put the pot's cover over the sieve if you can or cover with a thick piece of foil.