Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (16 page)

1.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Put the sugar in a heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick and with rounded sides, and turn the heat to medium. Cook, without stirring (just shake the pan occasionally to redistribute the sugar) until the sugar liquefies and begins to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and carefully add the wine. Turn the heat to high and cook, stirring, until the caramel dissolves again. Then add the rosemary sprig and reduce over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is syrupy and reduced to just over ½ cup, 10 to 15 minutes.

2.
Heat a nonstick ovenproof skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper, then put it in the pan; immediately put the pan in the oven. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn the salmon and cook for another 3 minutes. Check to see that the salmon is medium-rare or thereabouts (it should be) and remove it and keep it warm, or cook for another minute or two if you like.

3.
When the sauce is reduced, stir in the balsamic vinegar and butter and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook until the butter melts, add some salt and pepper, and remove the rosemary sprig. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve over the fish, garnished with the chopped rosemary.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

IT DOESN’T TAKE
much to cook salmon or to dress it up, and there’s no way simpler than this: cook fillets by any of a number of methods, then finish them with flavored oil. Here I focus on a spicy soy oil that contains slivered garlic, peanut and sesame oils, and soy sauce, but it’s easy enough to change the spirit from Asian to European. Although oil is the basis for this sauce, the quantity is minimal because heating the oil thins it, enabling even a small amount to coat and flavor the fish.

1.
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Heat a 12-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and swirl it around. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and put it, skin side up, in the skillet. A minute later, when the salmon has browned, turn and immediately transfer it to the oven.

2.
Combine the remaining peanut oil in a small saucepan with the sesame oil, garlic, and chiles and turn the heat to medium. Cook, gently shaking the pan occasionally, until the garlic and chiles sizzle and the garlic colors lightly, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the chiles. (This step may be done in advance.) When the oil cools a bit, add the soy sauce.

3.
The salmon will be medium-rare after about 6 minutes in the oven. Transfer it to a plate. Drizzle it with the oil, garnish if you like, and serve.

VARIATIONS

Salmon with Spicy Sherry Vinegar Oil

Use a total of 3 tablespoons olive oil in place of the peanut and sesame oils. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan with the garlic, chiles, and some salt. Cook, gently shaking the pan occasionally, until the garlic and chiles sizzle and the garlic colors lightly, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the chiles. (This step may be done in advance.) When the oil cools a bit, add 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar. Garnish with ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon.

Salmon with Soy and Black Beans

Before cooking the fish, soak 1 tablespoon preserved (Chinese) black beans in 1 tablespoon dry sherry or water. Drain the beans and add them to the oil along with the garlic and chiles.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

ALTHOUGH AQUACULTURE HAS
made fresh salmon a year-round product, wild salmon does have a season, from spring through fall. At those times it’s vastly preferable to the farm-raised fish, because the best salmon—king, sockeye, and coho—has so much flavor of its own that it needs nothing but a sprinkling of salt. But a simple formula of salmon, oil or butter, and a single herb, combined with a near-foolproof oven-roasting technique, gives you many more options and makes even farm-raised salmon taste special. Be sure to preheat the pan in the oven—this allows the fish to brown before it overcooks. (If you start the same fillet in a cold pan, it will simply turn a dull pink and will not brown until it is as dry as chalk.)

1.
Preheat the oven to 475°F. Put the butter and half the herb in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the salmon (you may have to cut the fillet in half) and put it in the oven. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the butter melts and the herb begins to sizzle.

2.
Add the salmon to the pan, skin side up. Roast for 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, then remove the skin from the salmon (it should peel right off; if it does not, cook for another 2 minutes). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn the fillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper again.

3.
Roast for another 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Spoon a little of the butter over each serving, garnish with the remaining herb, and serve with lemon wedges.

VARIATIONS

Salmon Roasted in Olive Oil

Substitute extra virgin olive oil for the butter and fresh basil, thyme leaves (2 teaspoons total), or marjoram (2 tablespoons total) for the herb.

• Substitute peanut oil for the butter (adding a teaspoon of sesame oil for extra flavor if you like) and fresh cilantro or mint for the herb. Use lime instead of lemon.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 40 MINUTES

COOKING IN PACKAGES
requires a small leap of faith to determine that the food is done, because once you open the packages you want to serve them. This method works well.

1.
Take 2 sheets of aluminum foil, each about 18 inches long, and place one piece on top of the other; repeat with 2 more sheets (you will make 2 packages). Smear the top sheet of each pair with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then cover with 2 pieces of salmon, 12 tomato halves, some salt and pepper, 8 basil leaves, and another tablespoon of oil. Fold the foil onto itself and crimp the edges as tightly as possible. Repeat the process. (You can refrigerate the packages until you’re ready to cook, no more than 6 hours later.) Put a baking pan in the oven and preheat it to 450°F shortly before cooking.

2.
Put the packages in the baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes (or about 8 minutes from the time it starts sizzling). Let sit for a couple of minutes before carefully slitting open the package—spoon out (the tomato will have liquefied) and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 45 MINUTES

SLOW-COOKED ONIONS
are good enough by themselves, but when you combine them with the liquid exuded by olives and tomatoes you have a gloriously juicy bed on which to serve any fish fillet or steak. This combination, I think, is best with grilled tuna or swordfish—their meatiness gives them the presence to stand up to the richly flavored mass of onions, creating an easy dish that is strikingly Provençal and perfect for summer.

1.
Put the olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, a healthy pinch of salt, some pepper, and the thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to sizzle, a minute or two. Adjust the heat so that you have to stir only every 5 minutes at most to keep the onions from browning. They will become progressively softer; do not allow them to brown. Figure at least 30 minutes total for the onions to cook.

2.
Core the tomatoes, then cut them in half horizontally. Squeeze and shake out the seeds, then cut the tomatoes into ½-inch dice. Preheat a grill to moderately hot.

3.
When the onions are very soft, almost a shapeless mass, season the fish and grill it, turning once, for a total of about 6 minutes for tuna, 8 to 10 minutes for swordfish; check for doneness by making a small cut in the center of the fish and peeking inside. (Tuna can be quite rare; swordfish is best cooked to medium, when its interior is still slightly pearly rather than completely opaque.) While the fish is grilling, stir the olives and tomatoes into the onions and raise the heat a bit; cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes liquefy and the mixture becomes juicy. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the fish on a bed of the onion confit.

VARIATIONS

Chicken with Onion Confit

Serve the onions with grilled skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

• Omit the thyme and use a bay leaf instead, or finish the dish with a handful of chopped fresh basil, chervil, or parsley.

• Cook some finely chopped aromatic vegetables, like carrots, celery or fennel, and garlic, along with the onions.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES

NOWADAYS MOST EXPERIENCED
home cooks grill tuna, but there are alternatives. Top of my list is tuna au poivre, yet another recipe that plays on tuna’s similarity to beef steaks. How finely to grind the pepper turns out to be a matter of taste. Mine dictates “coarsely ground” as opposed to “cracked.” That is, ground to the point where there are no large pieces left, but not to the point of powder. The coarser you make the grind, the more powerful the result will taste.

1.
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Put the pepper on a flat plate. Put the olive oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Dredge both sides of each piece of tuna lightly in the pepper; it will adhere nicely, forming a thin coat. (Use a bit more pepper if necessary.) As they’re dredged, add the steaks to the pan (if you must use 2 pans, double the amount of oil); when they are all in, turn the heat to high. Cook for about 2 minutes, then turn; add salt, then cook for another 1 minute. Turn the heat to low, transfer the steaks to an ovenproof plate, and place in the oven.

2.
Add half the butter to the pan (if you used 2 pans to brown the tuna, use just one to make the sauce), followed by the shallot. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the shallot softens, about 2 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the wine; let it bubble away for a minute or so and add the remaining butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the sauce is thickened.

3
. By this time the tuna steaks will be medium-rare (cut into one to make certain and roast a little longer if you like). Put each of them on a plate and spoon a little of the sauce over it. Serve immediately.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

BECAUSE THE SAUCE
is so moist, swordfish treated in this way will take a little longer to grill than usual; the interior, after all, has what amounts to a thick liquid cooling it off. So instead of cooking a one-and-a-half-inch-thick steak—about the right size for this procedure—for eight to ten minutes, I’d estimate twelve to fourteen. The actual time will vary depending on the heat of your grill or broiler, but you can assume a little bit longer than what you’re used to. Check by cutting into the fish when you think it’s done; the interior can be pearly but should not look raw.