I'll take your cod and raise you a salmon

It can be really enjoyable and sometimes really challenging to eat out.  Going out for a dish or style of cooking that I can't or don't want to cook at home is an easy decision.  Too lazy to cook tonight, done. Want to hang out with good friends at a nice restaurant? That's a pickle.

A few weeks ago, The UB and I went out to have dinner on Saint Patties day with some good foodie buddies. And no I didn't misspell the name of the holiday. Its not about a saint anymore. Its about drinking and eating. Patties not Patty's. Our friends suggested a restaurant we had never been to before called The Inn in downtown Minneapolis. It has gotten good reviews for both their drinks and food. A good combo platter for Saint Patties. The reviews weren't lying about the drinks. Which is the most important part of eating and drinking when its Patties day. I ordered a Captain Wentworth. I can understand why Annie Elliot fell in love but there was nothing poor about the Captain Wentworth. And if you are feeling poor, after drinking this bad boy down you'll greatly improve your situation. Now away from the literary allegory and back to alcohol. The drink is made with bourbon (maybe he wasn't really a British navel officer?), Fernet Branca, Berenjager Honey liqueur, and Black Walnut bitters.

The trouble began with the food. No. Don't get me wrong. The food is fine. The trouble was I had read gushing reviews of the cod, and white beans with herbs and garlic. I ate the dish and it was good. But those damn reviewers threw down the gauntlet.  You want fish? I'll give you fish. You want beans? I'll give you beans. Even if the fish and beans aren't of the same species or genus as yours. I don't got no cod but I got a salmon with fins. I'll take your challenge you hacks with taste buds. Actually, I generally like professional food critics but it was too good a line to edit out.

First the fish.

I decided that the cod, albeit nicely but plainly rendered, needed something more. No cod in the fridge and the salmon was on sale at Byerly's. First decision made. The rest of my ingredients were already in the bag. I mean my larder. Alright, I'll be honest, the ingredients were in the fridge as leftovers that needed to be used up.

I removed the salmon skin using a technique I already explained in a previous blog. if you don't remember it, go read the other salmon post. Or maybe just reread everything again. You got the time. Go do it. Cut the fish into two servings. If you haven't noticed almost all the measurements in this blog are for two servings and for my recipes all the measurements are approximate.  I don't measure anything. That's why I don't bake. I coated the salmon with Indian style black sesame seeds. I seared the salmon on both sides for about 30 seconds -1 min in a pan that was on medium high heat. I dropped the flame to medium and poured in enough cheap dry vermouth to roughly come up to about 1/2 of the salmon's side. We're sorta poaching now. Cover the pan for about 3 minutes. Remove the lid and poach it until it cooks to a nice medium well. If you have salt water based salmon you can cook it to just medium rare. Remove the fish and place it on a lascivious slaw who's recipe lays below in the gutter. Or next, if you will.  Salt to taste. I then lightly drizzled some blood orange olive on the
fish. Finally, I seeded a half of lemon, diced up the flesh and then dropped a dollop on each portion of fish.

I decided to lay the fish down in a matrimonial bed of slaw. I finely sliced about 1 1/2 cups worth of fennel bulb. Finely sliced lengthwise 1 large shallot. Two red chilies finely sliced lengthwise. 1 oz or so of prosciutto sliced into 1/8 strips. For this dish use cheap prosciutto, like the puttanesca it is. Bring a frying pan up to medium high heat. Add peanut oil or any non-smoking oil. Throw all the finely sliced leftovers, I mean veggies, into the pan and fry until crisp. Salt and pepper to taste.

Beans.


I used a similar white bean as The Inn did. I didn't take the trouble to cook them from dry. And I doubt The Inn did either. Their beans didn't have any 'pop' to them. I added olive oil to coat into a pot heated to medium. Then I sauteed 1/4 -1/2 tsp of smoked Spanish paprika and one clove of garlic until fragrant. I added one 8 oz w/o salt chicken stock. I recommend Kitchen Basic's brand. 1/4-1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper and brought the stock up to a boil. I reduced the broth until it as just enough to coat the beans, about 1/4 cup or less of liquid. I reduced the pot to medium low and added a can of drained cannellini beans, 2 tsp of fish sauce, 1 tbsp of fresh minced rosemary and 1/4 cup of diced sun dried tomatoes. If it still needs salt, add it. But canned beans often are pretty salty.

A bit of garnish.

I quartered some artichoke hearts and then liberally sprinkled oregano onto one side, salted to taste and lightly drizzled lemon oil oil and white balsamic vinegar. Toss and serve.