Pan-Seared Salmon w/Spinach & Mushrooms
May 27th, 2009 | View Comments
Active prep: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3
This recipe supposedly serves 4, but despite using more of pretty much everything, we’re barely going to eke out two meals from this. So I’m going to say it really serves three. I also opted to serve it family style because I’m lazy. Bonus: my husband did not abscond with the entire platter the second I snapped one photo.
This is another recipe from Fine Cooking‘s “Make It Tonight” (formerly “Quick & Delicious”) section and whips up in about 30 minutes. The original recipe calls for shiitakes but the grocery store was out so I substituted creminis instead.
I also swapped in dried thyme for fresh since I hate buying a whole pack to use one sprig and we have yet to add a thyme plant to the balcony herb garden.
Pan-Seared Salmon w/Spinach & Mushrooms
Adapted from Fine Cooking Apr/May 2009
3 1/2 T. olive oil
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 c. heavy cream
Heaping 1/4 t. dried thyme
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 c. lightly packed baby spinach (approximately half of a 5-oz. package)
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skin-on salmon, either portioned into 6-oz. fillets or cut into several large pieces so it’ll fit into the skillet
3 T. lemon juice
Heat 2 T. of the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the shallots until golden brown, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes more.
Stir in the cream, thyme, 1 t. salt, and 1/8 t. black pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the spinach to wilt it. Transfer spinach and mushroom mixture to a shallow serving dish, cover, and set aside.
Clean out the skillet and return to stove. Heat remaining olive oil over medium heat. Season salmon liberally with salt and pepper. Place salmon in single layer in skillet, skin side up, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn salmon over. Cook an additional 2-4 minutes or until interior temperature reaches 140 degrees. Transfer salmon to serving dish, layering it on top of the spinach.
Add lemon juice and 1 T. water to the skillet. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, about 30 seconds. Drizzle sauce over the salmon.
An instant-read thermometer is a must-have for this recipe. I have the Thermapen and I’m not sure how I ever cooked without it. My salmon fillets were quite thick so they took an extra 4 minutes to reach the correct temperature. Without my thermometer, I would have served undercooked fish.
This is not the most budget-friendly meal, though you could make it more budget-friendly by getting less expensive salmon and non-organic produce. I bought the Atlantic farm-raised salmon because it was noticeably fresher than the least expensive salmon the store had in stock, but not quite as expensive as the wild-caught sockeye (though the sockeye looked really delicious).
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 5-oz box organic baby spinach | $3.99 |
| 1 8-oz container heavy cream | $1.39 |
| 1.71 lbs salmon fillets | $22.21 |
| 1 small bag organic shallots | $1.99 |
| 0.58 lbs cremini mushrooms | $2.78 |
| Total | $32.36 |
Pantry ingredients: Lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper
Leftover ingredients: Spinach, shallots, heavy cream
Divided by 3 servings, that comes out to $10.79 per person per meal (divided by 4, it’s $8.09). Still less than what you’d pay in a restaurant for an equivalent dish, but not cheap. Buying the least expensive salmon instead would have saved me almost $9 overall.
Yvonne posted this on May 27th, 2009 @ 9:00pm in Fish, Low Carb, One Pot Meals, Quick Meals | Permalink to "Pan-Seared Salmon w/Spinach & Mushrooms"
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Likes to cook, eat, grow herbs, and collect kitchen gear in Houston, TX. 
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