Recipe: Sustainable Salmon Puttanesca, Ready in 15 minutes
The ladies of the night, who originally made this sauce famous in Italy, knew they’d better get their dinner fixed in a hurry. There was work to be done. And so began the famous Italian Sauce made with olives, basil, tomatoes, capers, lemons, and bell peppers. The original puttanesca was designed for Angel Hair pasta – which is of course delicious – but we find that the sauce is fantastic over almost any protein you choose: fish, chicken breast, pork loin.
You name it and the Puttanesca makes dinner a party. Now don’t even go there. The ladies did NOT invite guests over for dinner. But they knew this dish would sustain them. It can sustain you too, especially if you choose wild-caught sustainable fish to begin.
Feel free to substitute any fish you see in the case that looks fresh, is wild caught, and reasonably priced. Pacific Cod or Halibut? Sure. Yellow tail? Striped Bass? Certainly. But the quickest fish to cook that I know of is a wild-caught salmon fillet and in my book that makes it a shoo-in for this dish.
Fish that are endangered and should be avoided include Chilean sea bass, Atlantic Cod, imported Mahi-Mahi, Monkfish, Orange Roughy or any of the farmed fishes including salmon, tilapia or tuna.
Sautéed Salmon with a Roasted Tomato Onion Puttanesca Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui), quartered
1 large red bell pepper, halved lengthwise
2 large mushrooms, cut in half
1/2 small egg plant, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
4 6-ounce wild-caught salmon fillets
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano
1 tablespoon flour
Arrange tomatoes, onion,bell pepper, mushroom and egg plant on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Grill vegetables in a 450˚ F. oven until lightly charred and blistered, turning occasionally with tongs, about 4 minutes for tomatoes and 8 minutes for onion, pepper, mushroom and eggplant. Cool. Peel tomato halves; peel pepper halves. Chop all vegetables coarsely and place in medium bowl. Add olives, anchovies, garlic, basil, capers, vinegar, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge in parmigiano and flour. Press each fillet slightly to flatten top. Heat remaining oil in a large heavy skillet and sauté fillets until brown on each side, about 5 minutes.
Place fillets on a serving platter. Spoon 1/4 cup relish atop each fillet and serve, passing remaining relish.
