Pan-Roasted Salmon With Rich and Buttery White Beans

On today's menu is this pan-roasted peppery salmon with buttery stewed white beans, fresh parsley, bacon crumble, and a spicy citrus cayenne oil. This is an easy lunch or dinner on a cozy productive day, so let's get into the recipe. First on the prep list is the stewed white beans, so small chop the onion, celery, and carrots. Then you're going to sweat them in a pan on medium heat with a splash of oil. Add in some dried garlic, the soaked white beans, rosemary, bay leaf, oregano, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cover the beans with stock or water and simmer for 45 minutes or until super tender. Since I had the chance to work with a whole side of salmon, I ended up mainly focusing on the belly portion for this recipe because it's my favorite to serve and eat when I have the chance, but they just never sell them at the store, so it's definitely a treat to have. Just make sure to work clean during the fillet process with good washing practices, clean strokes, and even portion sizes. Also, if you're doing a skin-off presentation, try to remove some of the gray bloodline when possible since it can be super fishy and have bitter flavor, especially without the skin on there. For the spicy citrus oil garnish, you're going to mince up some lemon zest and slice fresh cayenne or serrano peppers, whichever one you guys have on hand. Then you're going to add those to some olive oil with a good sprinkle of paprika. Give that a stir and let those flavors marinate in the fridge for about one hour. To round out all the garnishes, you're going to chop up some crispy bacon into a coarse, yet even crumble. Also, you're going to pick some fresh parsley, cover that with a damp cloth, and your garnishes are good to go for this dish. Now, to cook the salmon, get a sauté pan on medium to high heat with a generous splash of oil in it. Season the fillet with salt and pepper, then sear the fillet on one side until it's a light gold brown, then you're going to flip it. Add in the butter, allow it to foam up a bit, then you're going to baste the top of the salmon for about one minute and this cut of salmon should be finished. No more than about five to six minutes in the pan total. To finish the recipe, all you need to do is add some butter, turnip greens, and some lemon juice to the stewed beans. Give that a good mix, then it is time to plate this up. Now, the first thing that goes down will be the buttery beans, just to create a really good base for the salmon. Then you're going to put the pan-roasted salmon right on top of those beans, fresh parsley gets dressed around the plate, a good sprinkle of that bacon crumble, and finally the spicy citrus oil just to dress up the plate. This is a perfect cozy lunch. I gotta say, the peppery and buttery salmon belly works great with so many different legume preparations and I really do love a lentil salad with a recipe like this as well, but there's nothing quite like a hearty, rich stew of buttery beans, bitter greens, and a refreshing piece of salmon. Hope you guys enjoy and bon appetit.