Give Your Salmon an Anchovy Butter Boost


Give Your Salmon an Anchovy Butter Boost

In my five-star salmon dinner, anchovies lend their intense and pungent bite to the sweet pink fillets.

Of all the ways to add oomph to weeknight cooking, the one I turn to most is anchovies. Honestly, I add them to pretty much everything short of ice cream, and I'll go double if fish is on the menu. Tossing a couple of salty, saline anchovies into a pan of salmon or hake fillets is an easy move to bring out a deep umami funk that's earthy rather than fishy.

My salmon with anchovy-garlic butter is a perfect example. I mash minced anchovies and garlic into butter that's used two ways. Melted into the pan, it becomes a medium for cooking the salmon, and gives everything a chance to brown and caramelize. Then, stir in even more of my flavored butter just before serving, so the raw garlic and anchovies can lend their intense and pungent bite to the sweet pink fillets. It's a speedy dish that takes weeknight salmon to ambrosial heights.

Featured Recipe

Salmon With Anchovy-Garlic Butter

View Recipe →

Here's a recipe to satisfy fans of both white and dark meat chicken: You can use either -- or a combination -- in Nargisse Benkabbou's crowd-pleasing weeknight tagine. Her fragrant recipe has all the heady spices and long-simmered appeal of a classic Moroccan tagine laced with preserved lemons and olives. It's ready in under an hour, and you can serve it with flatbread or a torn-up baguette to dunk in the rich and zesty pan sauce.

Even quicker for a chilly Monday, Ali Slagle's thick and stewlike black bean soup transforms canned beans into a cure for all blahs. Using cocoa powder for an almost fudgy texture and a can of green chiles for spicy brightness, it's a practically instant meatless meal that will warm you, body and soul. I love to pair citrus with my black beans for a juicy, tangy-sweet contrast; David Tanis's citrus salad with radish and watercress fills the bill in sunny hues of pink and orange.

Maybe not as dazzling to look at, but just as thrilling to eat, Hetty "Stompin' at the Savoy" Lui McKinnon's caramelized cabbage and walnut pasta has a gentler appeal. The mix of silky green or savoy cabbage and aromatic leeks seasoned with walnuts and cumin turns out to be both stunning and unexpected. An optional handful of chives on top can go a long way to brighten the plating.

While you have those walnuts out, why not try Lidey Heuck's maple-walnut blondies for dessert? They're an inspired take on the classic chewy bar cookie, with maple syrup for depth and a splash of bourbon for an autumnal nip. Or, substitute apple cider for a more mellow flavor that tastes equally in sync with the season.

Obviously, you'll want to subscribe to get these and all the other thousands upon thousands of recipes we have at New York Times Cooking. If you need any technical advice (where did that recipe box go; why can't I print), send an email to cookingcare@nytimes.com for help. And if you'd like to say hi, I'm at hellomelissa@nytimes.com.

That's all for now. See you on Wednesday.

Previous articleNext article

POPULAR CATEGORY

corporate

10572

tech

11464

entertainment

12988

research

5919

misc

13792

wellness

10496

athletics

13813