Salmon pan roast with garlic shavings and basil on fresh greens

Serves 4
5 minutes prep time; 10 minutes stove time    
Cook and serve immediately

Good old salmon in a white wine sauce gets a major makeover when shaved garlic and torn fresh basil go into the pan. Skip making a side dish by bedding the salmon on a pile of greens and sugar snaps. The garlic-basil pan sauce doubles as a salad dressing. Use this trick with anything from meat to vegetables to tempeh.

• One 5-ounce bag (or 4 handfuls) fresh spring greens or mesclun mix

• 1/4 pound (or a handful) fresh sugar snap peas, coarse chopped

• 12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces Salmon Roast

• 4 small wild salmon steaks, cut 1 inch thick (or fillets), or other firm-fleshed fish

• Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

• 3 large garlic cloves, sliced paper-thin

• 12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces

• 2/3 cup dry white wine

• Lemon wedges

1 Divide the greens among four dinner plates. Scatter the sugar snap peas and the 12 torn basil leaves over them.

2 Rinse the salmon and pat it dry. Examine the fish for any tiny bones and remove them.

3 Lightly film a slant-sided 12-inch skillet with the oil, and heat it over medium-high heat. Season the salmon steaks on both sides with the salt and pepper. Slip them into the skillet, and sear for 1 minute. Turn the fish with a metal spatula, taking care not to break it, and sear for 1 minute on the other side.

4 Sprinkle the garlic and the basil leaves around the fish. Turn the heat to medium low, cover the skillet, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, turning the steaks midway through cooking, or until the salmon is just firm when pressed. The flesh should be barely opaque near the center.

5 Remove the fish from the skillet and keep it warm. Add the wine to the skillet, turn the heat to high, and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom. Simmer until the pan juices are sizzling and syrupy.

6 Drizzle the hot sauce over the greens and top them with the salmon. At the table, squeeze the lemon over the fish and greens.

Variation
Thai Seafood Sauté

Follow the recipe above, eliminating the greens, snap peas, and basil. Sear your fish of choice in the oil, then remove it from the pan. Stir in the thin-sliced garlic and 1 minced jalapeño. Sauté for 1 minute, then blend in a teaspoon of jarred Thai curry paste (red will be the hottest, while green is usually the mildest—but be warned, all Thai curry pastes are hot).

Swirl in a small can (about 6 ounces, or 3/4 cup) of coconut milk. Boil until the sauce is smooth and rich-tasting.

Add a few handfuls of shredded napa cabbage and 2 tight-packed tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves. Boil for 30 seconds.

Slip the fish back into the pan. Simmer it gently over medium-low heat until it is just firm when pressed. The sauté is good on its own or over rice noodles.

Excerpted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift Copyright © 2008 by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.