Our son, Toby, cooked these Pan-fried Salmon with Oven-Roasted Kale and sent a photo via our phones. It’s reassuring to know our sons are cooking, eating good, and taking charge of their well-being, even on semi lockdown during this pandemic.
One look at this and I knew I wanted to cook it, too. Toby sent me the recipe and the next day, I made it for dinner.
The meaty salmon fillets were pan-fried to a crisp in a searing hot skillet, over a combination of oil and butter. The strong, sharp aromas of garlic and shallots tossed into the skillet earlier, filled the kitchen and our tummies with anticipation.
While the salmon was cooking, I put the dark green kale in a pre-greased cast iron skillet, then shoved it into the oven. It didn’t take long for the leafy greens to transform to crunchy, light chips. It was scrumptious.
Even with vaccinations accelerating around the country, the pandemic has yet to be contained in other parts of the world, especially in our home country, the Philippines. Cases have risen again there. Here in America, as states open up, we’re witnessing mass shootings once more. We are all grieving over these in addition to the rise in Asian hate crimes, which has the Filipino American community extremely agitated.
Yet, despite all these, and no matter how overwhelmed we are from what’s happening, we still need to cook and eat. Our souls need nourishment to calm us down. Even if we’re mostly staying home these days, you can reach out to friends. Find out how they’re doing. Both ways, acts of kindness are good antidotes. That, and a good serving of these Pan-fried Salmon with Oven-Roasted Kale.
What Do You Call a Calendar Full of ‘Bad Days’ ? by Constante Quirino, on Positively Filipino, is a thoughtful, insightful piece on Asian hate crimes and how we can help the Asian American community. Read more here.
Pan Fried Salmon with Oven-Roasted Kale
Equipment
- Large Skillet: 12-inches diameter
- Cast-iron skillet - 10 inches or 12 inches diameter
- Heavy duty oven mitts
- Wide fish turner
Ingredients
For the Salmon
- 2 whole (500 gm. each) salmon fillets
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 to 6 whole shallots, peeled, ends cut, sliced
For Kale
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed, coarsely shredded, about 2 to 3 cups
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
For serving:
- steamed rice
Instructions
To Pan-Fry Salmon
- In a bowl, season the salmon fillets with salt and ground black pepper.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, add the oil. After 1 to 2 minutes, when oil is hot, add the butter.
- When butter is melted and skillet is hot, saute the garlic and shallots for 2 minutes.Add the salmon fillets. Pan sear on each side till brown and crisp. Turn the fillets using a turner, only once. Total cooking time for the fillets' skin to be crisp will be about 13 to 15 minutes.Drain on parchment paper to remove excess grease.Serve warm with the Oven-Roasted Kale and steamed rice.
To Oven-Roast the Kale:
- Grease a large cast-iron skillet with cooking spray. Set aside.Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, remove the stems from the kale.Using your hands, shred the leaves coarsely into large pieces. Wash the kale and drain well so leaves are completely dry. Pat with paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 430 F degrees.Place the kale leaves in the pre-greased cast-iron skillet.Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil all over the kale.Use your fingers to massage the kale leaves and spread the oil evenly.
- Place the cast-iron skillet with the kale in a preheated oven of 430 F degrees.Roast the kale leaves for 13 to 14 minutes.When done, edges should look brown, but not burnt. Kale leaves should be crisp.Use heavy-duty oven mitts to handle the cast-iron skillet, as you take it out of the oven.Sprinkle salt all over the crisp kale, just before serving.Serve the kale as an accompaniment to the Pan Fried Salmon.
Cook's comments:
- To prepare shallots for cooking, cut the ends off, and peel away the skin.Shallots caramelize like onions when sauteeing, but do it gently. Do not brown shallots on high heat or they will taste bitter.If you don't have shallots, substitute with regular onions or scallion whites.
Copyright Notice
- Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided in the recipe links is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE Asian in America recipes on this blog, my original recipes, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC by Elizabeth Ann Quirino. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
Nutrition
Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided in the recipe links is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.
Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE Asian in America recipes on this blog, my original recipes, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC by Elizabeth Ann Quirino. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
Leave a Reply