Mediterranean
Lemon-Herb Salmon with White Bean & Spinach Sauté
Crisp-skinned salmon, lemon and herbs, over warm white beans wilted with spinach.
Editor's Choice — a family favorite.Prep10 min
Cook20 min
Serves4
A weeknight salmon that made believers out of bean skeptics. The fillets get a hot skillet and a lemon-herb finish, and they go over white beans warmed with garlic, cherry tomatoes, and spinach — the side that turned out to be the surprise hit of the plate.
Ingredients
Set servings and the amounts update themselves. This is the only ingredient list on the page.
servings
Steps
- Pat the salmon dry and season with half the salt, half the pepper, and half the lemon zest. A dry fillet is what gets you crisp skin.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Lay the salmon in skin-side down and cook 4 to 5 minutes without moving it, until the skin is crisp and the flesh is opaque about halfway up.
- Flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until just opaque in the center. Move to a plate to rest — it keeps cooking off the heat.
- In the same skillet, warm the remaining oil over medium. Soften the garlic 1 minute, then add the beans and tomatoes and cook 3 minutes until the tomatoes slump.
- Fold in the spinach a handful at a time until wilted, then stir in the lemon juice, remaining zest, parsley, thyme, remaining salt and pepper, and the pepper flakes.
- Spoon the beans and spinach onto plates, set a fillet on top, and drizzle with the pan juices. Serve with extra lemon wedges.
Tip: Pull the salmon at 125°F in the center for medium — carryover heat finishes it, and past 140°F it dries out fast. For kid plates, serve the beans and spinach plain before adding pepper flakes.