By Iron Chef Leftovers
I have about 15 pounds of frozen salmon sitting in the freezer from an Alaska fishing trip back in August and I really wanted to take advantage of it and use up some of the remaining tomatoes and peppers that were sitting on the counter, so I came up with this nice little recipe that was essentially a seared salmon fillet with tomato salsa. It is easy to make and can really be done with a minimal amount of effort.
The Software
1 small leek, white part only, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 a small Anaheim chili
6 San Marzano (roma or plum) tomatoes, diced
2 skin on Salmon fillets, about 4 oz each, skin on
3 tablespoons dry white wine
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
The Compote
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a non-reactive skillet until shimmering. Add leeks and sprinkle with salt. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and sauté for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the leeks begin to brown. Add the chili and cook for an additional 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and white wine, bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 8 minutes more. Add salt and pepper to taste.
The Fish
Sprinkle the fish with salt on the non-skin side. Heat an empty 10” skillet (Don’t use a non-stick skillet for this) over medium-high heat for 6 minutes. Add 1 table of olive oil and heat until it just begins to smoke. Add the salmon, skin side up, to the skillet. Cook without moving the fish for 3-6 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish (you are targeting medium rare). The fish will develop a nice crust and will release from the pan without sticking. If it does not release easily, cook for one additional minute and it should release. Flip the fish and turn the heat off. Allow the residual heat in the pan to cook the skin side for 3 minutes. Plate the fish, top with compote and serve.
Notes
I served this over brown rice, but it could be served over any grain or even a salad. If you prefer a crispy skin to a crust on the flesh side, reverse the cooking order of the fish (start with skin side down). Add any herbs you would like to the compote. The chili can be replaced with any pepper you want. You can substitute any onion for leeks and reduce the cooking time by about 5-10 minutes. If the compote is too sweet, add a bit of red wine vinegar or verjus to it before finishing the cooking to increase the acidity.
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