We have a
new favorite restaurant near us in the little town of New Castle California. It
is called La Fornaretta Restaurant. It is an Italian restaurant, authentically
Sicilian. If you live in the area, check it out. Last night we met friends
there for dinner and I had the salmon special. It was a lovely dish of salmon smothered
in freshly cooked tomatoes, calamata olives and capers in a white wine
reduction served with spinach. It was divine. 2 of the gang had stuffed pork
chops over polenta and spinach while one other had the Tutto Mare, a seafood
medley over linguini. All were very impressed.
When we got
home from church and shopping today, I couldn’t get that salmon specialty out
of my head. I know it’s November 2nd but my garden is still gifting
us, so I headed to the garden and gathered up some red and yellow tomatoes, a
few small onions, some basil, a couple of red bell peppers and a big bunch of Swiss
chard.
I needed to
come up with a recipe that would satisfy my craving for La Fornaretta in
between visits. This concoction did the trick. We sure loved every bite. Even
though there are a lot of ingredients, it was fast and super easy. I hope this
becomes one of your favorites too.
Now when I
cook, I don’t really measure much of anything. For example when I say to put in
2 teaspoons honey, you don’t have to make a sticky mess measuring it out. Just
eyeball it. Go with your gut. Trust that you will do just fine.
Pan Seared Salmon over Swiss Chard
with White Wine Beurre Blanc.
Serves 4
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
2 small red bell peppers, sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
8 cups Swiss chard, cleaned and chopped
1 handful fresh basil leaves
¼ cup calamatta olives, sliced
2 teaspoons capers
1 can cannelloni beans
Salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces of salmon fillets
Granulated garlic
Salt and pepper
½ pound penne
pasta
Freshly
grated parmesan cheese
1 cup white wine
The juice of one lemon
½ teaspoon tarragon
6 tablespoons butter
A pinch of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons honey
Start your
pasta water to boiling with salt and just a bit of olive oil while you prepare
your vegetables to cook. Once you’re ready to cook the vegetables, put your
pasta in boiling water and cook for 9-10 minutes until al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large deep pan heat
the olive oil and add the onions and bell peppers. Sauté until softened. Add
garlic and tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes soften and become juicy. Salt
and pepper the layers. Add the Swiss chard and the basil leaves, cover and cook
on medium heat until the Swiss chard is very tender. Stir in the calamatta
olives and capers. Add the beans and
stir. Turn of the heat and add the cooked pasta to the mixture and cover with a
lid to keep warm
Sprinkle salt, pepper and granulated
garlic on your salmon fillets. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil in a hot pan
and add the salmon fillets. Cook at medium/high to get a sear on the salmon and
watch for them to cook about 1/3 of the way through. Flip the salmon over and
let it cook about 1/3 of the way through again. Remove the salmon from the pan
and cover with foil to keep warm. (The thickness of the fillet will determine
cooking time)
Beurre Blanc
In the same pan that the salmon came out of and
while still hot, pour in the white wine, the juice of a lemon and the tarragon.
Let it reduce to about 1/3 cooking on medium/high heat. Add the butter and
crushed red pepper. Stir to incorporate until silky smooth, then add the honey
and stir just a bit longer. Remove from heat and add to the pasta/Swiss chard
pan and mix everything together.
Scoop the Swiss
chard/pasta mixture onto the center of a plate and place the salmon on top.
Sprinkle with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
