Bean Salad with Fresh Salmon and Dill

(recipe from Food & Wine magazine)

1 1/2 cups dried cannellini beans (10 ounces), soaked overnight and drained
1 small onion, halved
1 carrot, halved
4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
2 bay leaves
1 medium fennel bulb, finely diced, stalks, core and fronds reserved
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup good fruity olive oil
Two 8-oz. skinless salmon fillets

Place the beans in a large pot.  Add 2 quarts of water and the onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaves and the reserved fennel stalks and core.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to very low, cover and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.  Season the beans with salt and pepper during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Drain the beans and discard all the cooked vegetables.  Coarsely chop the fennel fronds.  Transfer the beans to a large serving platter and, while still warm, add the dill, diced fennel bulb, fennel fronds and all but 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine.

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper, add the fish to the skillet and cook over moderate heat on 1 side until brown and crusty, about 3 minutes.  Gently flip the salmon and cook on the other side until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.  Transfer the salmon to a plate to cool slightly.  Break the salmon into large flakes and toss gently with the beans.  Serve the salad warm or at room temperature.

(A nice hearty salad with great flavor.  Beware of overcooking the beans - check that they're not turning too mushy.  I cooked mine an hour and they were a bit overdone.  Also, I'm not a fan of throwing out the onions and carrots and garlic - perhaps may be nice to chop them a bit and keep them in the salad?  Might give it a try next time...  I did not use so much olive oil - can add to your liking.  Also, instead of fresh salmon, I added the thick smoked salmon to mine, which tasted nice.)

Arctic Char with Charmoula

(recipe from Food and Wine magazine)

3 unpeeled garlic cloves
1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp. chopped green olives
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika (I used smoked paprika)
Kosher salt
Four 5-oz., skin-on arctic char or salmon fillets (I used salmon)
Pepper

In a small skillet, toast the garlic over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the skins blacken, 7 to 8 minutes.  Let cool slightly; discard the skins.

In a food processor, puree 1/3 cup of the oil, the garlic, parsley, cilantro, olives, lemon juice, cumin and paprika until smooth.  Transfer the charmoula to a bowl and season with salt.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil.  Season the fish with salt and pepper and place it skin side down in the skillet.  Cook the fish over moderately high heat until the skin is golden, about 3 minutes.  Flip the fish and cook just until it flakes easily, 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain briefly on paper towels.  Serve the fish with the charmoula.

(After coming across this recipe, I read a post on David Lebovitz' lovely cooking site {http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2014/08/chermoula-hot-sauce-recipe/} about the spicy sauce called chermoula, so I had to try it!  I noted the ingredients in David's recipe, and sort of combined the two, tweaking the amounts of things, adding red pepper flakes, keeping the green olives, etc.  The sauce is very flavorful, and a nice addition to the salmon.)

Salmon Moqueca

(recipe from Food52.com)

Fish and marinade:
1 1/2 lb. wild salmon fillets
28 oz. can of peeled whole tomatoes, undrained
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
1 Serrano chile pepper, stemmed and cut in half (use the seeds, too, if you want your stew to be spicy)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Stew:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup water (or fish stock)
3/4 cup organic whole coconut milk
1/2 cup minced green onion - for garnish
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped - for garnish

Place fish in a shallow non-reactive (non-metal) bowl.  Combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, chile pepper, lime juice, oil and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade (or a blender).  Process until smooth and pour over the fish.  Allow to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add diced sweet potato and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, adding a little water if needed so it doesn't burn, until softened.  Add zucchini, green and red pepper and continue to cook until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes, again adding water to the pan, if needed.  Add water and stir in coconut milk.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.

Add fish and marinade and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Just before serving, stir in green onion and cilantro.  Serve alone or over rice.

(Based on a traditional Brazilian fish stew.  I enjoyed eating this over rice noodles.  Interesting combination of flavors, with the salmon, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and coconut milk.  Makes a lot, and keeps well in the fridge.)