Just Call Me Frank: Our Endeavour at Being Frank: Salmon Margherita al la Frankie: A Recipe

Friday, June 28, 2013

Salmon Margherita al la Frankie: A Recipe

We try to eat gluten-free, and corn-free (not because it's "trendy", but because we have a problem digesting those things - see: Our 100# Weight Loss - how we lost 100 pounds [it's on this blog and advertisement-free]).
Today was a fail because we went to Taco Bell to try that Doritos Taco we keep hearing about...it was tasty...until about 5 minutes after we ate it when we got a headache and felt like crap. Then by the time we drove home (35-45 minutes) our arms and hands felt funny...
Sometimes curiosity gets the best of us.
So, yeah...it'd been years since we ate there...and hopefully it will be years more.

Home and after our workout we decided to twist up our usual Salmon dish (a version with fresh tomatoes, capers and salad greens) because we finally got groceries after returning from the Ontario Tweetup. (the fridge is full of inspiration!)

We wanted something relatively healthy after the terrible idea of a lunch, and since the basil is thriving on our back porch and we don't want it to go to waste we though we'd take a classic Italian recipe and remove the crusts. This recipe is based on Pizza Margherita - a simple pizza of basil, tomato and mozzarella, said to be created in Naples in 1889 for a visit by Queen Margherita. A classic.

So...it may have been done by other people, there may be this recipe somewhere else...but this one is ours.

This is a really quick meal, and aside from the bacon fat (trust us, you want to use the bacon fat...because bacon), it's also very healthy.

This is for one person (multiply as needed)

Salmon Margherita al la Frankie

Ingredients:

Salmon (no skin) - one portion/serving
Bacon fat - 2-3 tbsp (you can substitute EVVO...if you have to)
Fresh basil - 3-5 leaves torn into pieces
Fresh french beans - a serving size, so, about 20?
Tomato sauce - 3-4 tbsp
Fresh mozzarella - as desired, we suggest about three thinly sliced rounds
Sea Salt - as desired
Fresh Ground Pepper - as desired

Instructions:

Heat pan with bacon fat to medium heat.
Meanwhile lightly salt both sides of salmon.
Place salmon in pan and cook on one side for about 3 minutes. (if you are using salmon with the skin-on, cook the non-skin side first. Note: usually it is suggested you cook skin-side first...this is an exception)
Add green beans to pan and turn salmon.
Season with fresh ground pepper.
Place tomato sauce and mozzarella, on the cooked side of salmon. Continue to cook for 3-5 more minutes (or until center of salmon is cooked to the level you desire. Should take no more than 10 minutes total to cook salmon otherwise it will get dry and chewy)
Add basil to pan on top of the green beans, moving the green beans and basil in the pan to prevent burning. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
Remove salmon from pan carefully and place on a plate. To serve top salmon with sautéed green beans.
Enjoy!