Salmon with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

by Jody Adams

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Dried cranberries and walnuts are a pair of obvious New England ingredients for an easy variation on seared salmon, and both go well with spinach. Red cranberries, orange salmon, green spinach, and a golden sauce make a seafood entree that looks festive, tastes great, and is easy and quick to prepare.

The dish is easily doubled, especially if you grill the salmon instead of sautéing it. Any leftovers translate into an instant lunch. The spinach is delicious cold, and the salmon can be sliced thin and drizzled with fresh lemon juice or given a completely different spin with a flavored mayonnaise.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted buffer
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons dried cranberries, soaked in 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish, or
2 tablespoons bottled horseradish, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Four 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin on
1 pound flat-leaf spinach, trimmed of thick stems, washed, and dried
2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter with the shallots in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the shallots are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Pour the orange juice from the cranberries into the saucepan (set the cranberries aside). Reduce the orange juice to just 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the remaining 7 tablespoons butter, a tablespoon at a time. Add the horseradish and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep in a warm spot, away from the direct heat -- or the sauce will break.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sauté pan (nonstick if possible) over high heat. (Use two pans if all the fish won't fit comfortably in a single pan.) Sprinkle the salmon liberally with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, almost smoking, add the salmon fillets, skin side up, and sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Do not try to move the fillets until they've gotten a good sear, or they'll stick to the pan. Flip and cook on the other side. A 2-inch-thick fillet will take 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium.

3. While the salmon is cooking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing, until the spinach has just wilted, a minute or so. Add the walnuts and cranberries and cook for another 30 seconds to heat everything through.

4. Place a quarter of the spinach and cranberries in the center of each of four warm plates. Set the salmon skin side up over the spinach. Spoon the sauce around the plates. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 entrée servings