Salmon Piccata

We eat a lot of chicken around here, and sometimes, we get tired of it. The other night I had some lemon laying around, and thought I might make some chicken piccata. But being tired of chicken, I thought I’d look for a recipe for salmon, and look, I found one! Most of the recipes I find on Food Network are pretty good, though it’s helpful to look at the reviews…sometimes they give you some good pointers, like, “This was great, but too much salt” or “I love this receipe, it’s perfect!” and so on.

The recipes on Food Network are mostly based on TV shows. I’m guessing that this show is about cooking for one, as the recipe is for one serving. I doubled the salmon, used a 15 oz can of cannellini beans, and a clamshell size container of spinach. I doubled the other ingredients. Not entirely accurate, I am sure, but it was delicious. Also, another reason why I don’t bake much. You can’t do that when baking.

Next time you’re in the mood for salmon, or capers, or both, give it a try.

Salmon Piccata

Ingredients:
5 ounces salmon, skin off
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (I used olive oil)
1 teaspoon slivered garlic
1 teaspoon minced shallots
2 ounces canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup spinach
1 ounce lemon juice (1oz = 2 tablespoons…2oz = 1/4 cup. What kind of recipe puts liquid measure in ounces?)
1 ounce vegetable or fish stock
1 tablespoon capers, lightly chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Dry the salmon with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil over medium-high heat, add the salmon and sear for 3 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the remaining tablespoon grapeseed oil over medium heat and saute the garlic and shallots until translucent, about 1 minute. Add the cannellini beans and warm for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and wilt for 1 minute.

Remove the salmon from the hot pan, add the lemon juice, stock and capers and reduce to make a glaze, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the butter and emulsify, turning off the heat and mixing until all is incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley.

On a plate, add the cannellini and spinach mix. Place the salmon on top and spoon the sauce over the salmon.