Mediterranean Salmon, white bean salad and sauteed spinach

Fish. I love to eat it but I don't find myself cooking it that often. Good pieces of fish can be pretty expensive at the local grocery store and the cheap fillets usually give me a skeptical feeling. I really wish there was a smelling option before you buy at Jewel - might make me less doubtful in the quality and I would buy fish more often. However, last Sunday while doing my shopping for the week I came across a beautiful 1.5 lb piece of Salmon. The guy behind the counter swore up and down it was a great buy even though it was on sale. Sooo, I took a jump out of my comfort zone and decided I would be making a salmon dish this week.

This recipe was adapted from MyRecipes.com. The concept is the same but I added some additional spices (b/c I like to spice all things nice) and the sauteed spinach side is something I like to use on a regular basis.

The salmon was cooked in a skillet which is great since it doesn't break my no-oven summer. The fillet was pretty thick so I wasn't sure if cooking salmon 3 minutes on each side would do the trick, but it was pretty accurate. I was very impressed with how easy everything came together and it tasted pretty good too! I owe a "Thank You" to the Jewel Fish Guy next time I see him. :)

Mediterranean Salmon With White Beans

Ingredients
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
minced garlic
dried dill
dried oregano
crushed red pepper flakes
1 (15-oz.) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 (6-oz.) salmon fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper


Preparation
1. Saute onion in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes or until slightly softened. Add garlic, beans, olives, and tomatoes and seasonings; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, and stir in basil.

2. Sprinkle salmon fillets evenly with salt, pepper, dill and oregano. Cook salmon in a large nonstick skillet in remaining 1 Tbsp. hot oil over medium-high heat 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily. Spoon bean mixture evenly over salmon fillets, and serve immediately.

Sauteed Spinach
1 bag of spinach
olive oil
chopped onion
garlic
diced tomatoes
feta cheese
salt pepper

This is super easy and comes together in minutes. Add olive oil to a wok. Let it warm up and add the garlic & onions. Let the onions "sweat" a bit and then add the tomatoes. Add spinach and let the leaves wilt a bit before stirring. Once wilted, add feta cheese, salt and pepper. Stir a few more times to distribute the flavors and serve.