“I don’t want my own podcast bc there are too many, but who’s gonna give me a recurring segment on theirs called “yah I’m not gonna do that” where I review recipes and tell you why I’m not gonna do that” –Alison Roman
I apologize for this ridiculous title, but the original recipe – and title! – belong to Bobby Flay, and though I have greatly streamlined the recipe for you, I don’t feel comfortable from a legal standpoint also streamlining the title. Especially because I kept all the elements of the recipe advertised in that too-long title. You see my conundrum.
I first encountered this recipe almost twelve years ago (ahhh!) and though it looked and sounded delectable, my eyes glazed over during my initial read-through. Soak dried black beans overnight. Boil black beans with aromatics for hours. Source authentic Mexican crema. I’m falling asleep just thinking about that arduousness. IT’S TUESDAY EVENING, BOBBY!
And so I must credit this particular dish, from this restaurant cookbook, authored by this professional chef and restaurant owner, with birthing a great hobby of mine: collecting restaurant-level recipes, then streamlining them to make them doable for a busy weeknight dinner, all without sacrificing the flavors and complexity that landed them on swanky, trendy, famous restaurant menus proudly accompanied by a thirty dollar-plus price tag in the first place.
I’m a total sucker for restaurant cookbooks. They know how to woo me, that’s for sure. The stunning photography, the exotic ingredients, the artiste plating, the enticing prose evoking otherworldly fantasties of sourcing fresh ingredients straight from the farms and ranchers and fishermen themselves… They sell quite the narrative, don’t they? Who doesn’t want to be at least momentarily swept up in that world? Especially when they tell me I can create this experience in my own pathetic little kitchen with my half sheet pans and mere four burners? I’m floating.
Until I read the recipe, that is. Cue the harsh record scratch sound. Every time, it’s the same. These mouthwatering recipes start with hours of early prep where you must turn the chicken exactly two hours and thirteen minutes into the seven hour marinade time, plus specific instructions about how if you don’t shave the fresh oregano with specialized nail clippers it’s just never going to taste right. And then AFTER you’ve compiled the forty-seven supposedly necessary ingredients for the protein, you have to flip over to page 249 for the finishing sauce, where you’ll need to make three gallons of it for two servings. No wonder we all did a shot of bourbon and just ordered pizza for dinner.
This salmon dish was originally featured on Bobby Flay’s original Mesa Grill menu, until the New York City locale tragically shuttered thanks to a condo development. I’m sure private equity was somehow involved. Never fear, it lives on at Mesa Grill, Las Vegas, where you can enjoy it for a mere $33, plus tax and tip. Or…
You can cook it at home The Flay Way, which will require an overnight head start plus hours of simmering plus a probable trip to a specialty market all the way across town. Or…
You can cook my shortened, simplified version that allows you a sophisticated and delicious home cooked meal in under an hour without sacrificing one iota of flavor. Here’s how we roll.
First of all, Flay instructs you to begin this dish the night before with dried black beans. You may not embrace my vehement rejection of all things dried beans, but even those who don’t can probably see the waste and frivolity of going to all that dried beans trouble for… a sauce. Pop open a can at 6 pm on a Tuesday. I promise it tastes the same. Flay has you cooking the beans – FOR HOURS – in a broth full of onions and garlic, then straining them out and pureeing them with cumin and chipotle in adobo. To capture that flavor I simply saute chopped onion and garlic until cooked, then throw them into the food processor with the cumin, chipotle, and canned beans. Done!
Next, Bobby’s got you hunting down authentic Mexican crema, which might not be a problem for you depending on where you live, but I live in suburban New Jersey. It’s a problem for me. We’re grabbing regular old sour cream, people. It’s fine.
Flay also would have us roast a jalapeno, and… don’t hate me but sometimes I will actually go to that trouble. But other times I do not, and I’m happy to report the dish works either way.
At the end of the day, of course the choice is yours. But if your life is busy and chaotic like mine and most others’, if you already feel overloaded by our most brutish form of late-stage capitalism and just. can’t. fucking. deal anymore, my simplified version of this recipe will have you devouring an intensely flavorful, impressive, expensive-restaurant fantasy of a dinner in under an hour.
Red Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema
Ingredients
BLACK BEAN SAUCE:
- 1 tbs canola oil
- 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
JALAPENO CREMA:
- ½ cup sour cream (you can use Mexican crema if you can find it)
- 1 large jalapeno
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
SALMON:
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tbs ancho chile powder
- 1 tbs Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 8 oz skin-on salmon fillets
- 2 tbs canola oil
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
BLACK BEAN SAUCE:
- In a medium skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but not browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor. Add the black beans, chipotles in adobo, and this is where I like to add about a spoonful of that lovely adobo sauce but this is optional. Also add the cumin, plus salt and pepper to taste. Process until nicely blended but not totally smooth.
- Place the same skillet back over low heat. Add the black bean puree and stir to heat it thoroughly. It can be kept over low heat with an occasional stir until you are done with the salmon.
JALAPENO CREMA:
- Place the sour cream in a small food processor.
- If you are roasting your jalapeno, then place it over a gas burner turned to between medium and medium-low. Turn carefully with tongs as each side of the chile blackens. Once the whole chile is charred and blackened, place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the bowl and scrape or peel off the charred skin. Cut off the stem and remove the seeds and ribs (for a hotter version, leave them in). Place the jalapeno in the food processor with the sour cream.
- If you are NOT roasting the jalapeno, then simple stem, seed, and rough chop it, and add it to the food processor with the sour cream.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and puree until smooth.
SALMON:
- Whisk together the honey, ancho chile powder, and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet or other large, sturdy skillet or grill pan over high heat. Brush the salmon with canola oil on both sides, then season with salt and pepper. When the pan is good and hot, lower in the salmon, skin side down. Cook until golden brown and a crust has formed, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush the top of the salmon with a good amount of glaze. Flip the fillets and continue cooking until a crust has formed and the salmon is cooked to your liking, about 2 minutes more for medium rare.
- To serve: spoon the black bean sauce evenly on 4 dinner plates. Set the salmon in the center, then liberally spoon drops of the jalapeno crema. Garnish with scallions and serve immediately.
Leave a Reply