Hey, so there seems to be a good for you theme this week. I think that’s because Monday I’ll be posting my Weekend Cookbook Challenge 4 dish and uh, that’s not healthy. At all. It involves half and half, honey, maple syrup, butter, thick pieces of stale bread and an oven. It was awesome.
Okay, but here we are at healthy fish day! Actually, this was pretty tasty, I shouldn’t mock. The original recipe (from Self Magazine via Epicurious) called for putting the cilantro into the coconut milk but I found mine lost its nice green color then. So, I suggest you leave the cilantro for a garnish.
You can also use many different kinds of fish for this dish. Halibut and ling cod would probably work well too. As written, the recipe used snapper. Eh. I used frozen white Pacific salmon that I got at Trader Joe’s. I spied it on the freezer while looking for the veggie burgers and it looked interesting. I had forgotten it was there and felt guilty. So I defrosted the salmon overnight and it worked fine in this recipe. Fresh fish would most likely be best, though.
I also used my grill pan for this because I wanted the nice lines on my fish but you can certainly use a regular pan. If you do use a grill pan, just use that for making the whole dish, including the coconut milk and the onion and garlic with the fish, it works fine.
Coconut Spinach Salmon:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 salmon fillets (about 6-8 oz each)
salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 can light coconut milk
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
4 plum tomatoes, diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1 bag (10 oz) spinach, washed (not dried)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Cooked basmati rice
Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper and cook 2 or 3 minutes per side.
Remove fish from skillet. Return skillet to heat; cook garlic, ginger, onion until tender. Add coconut milk and lime juice and bring to a boil.
Add the soy and chili sauces and return the fish to the pan; simmer until the fish is cooked through — 5-8 minutes depending on the size and type of your fish. Meanwhile, while fish is simmering, heat remaining 1/2 tbsp oil in a separate, large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté bell pepper until it is soft and then add greens and cook until they are just wilted.
To serve:
Start with rice in a bowl and then add spinach and peppers. Top with fish and spoon coconut sauce down over fish. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges.