Herb & Lemon Roasted Salmon on a Bed of Roasted Potatoes & Sauteed Greens

This dish from Fine Cooking (issue 50) blew me away. It is a bit tedious with both a marinade and a lemon oil drizzle at the end, but the results are worth the effort. I don't really know why I first decided to make it. I guess I was in the mood for potatoes and I had planned to make spinach, so it all just fell into place. The potatoes are sliced thin, layered and cooked in a hot oven. They turn out like crispy, herby home fries. I didn't have the heart to cook the salmon on top of those lovelies (as the recipe says. Hence, the "on a bed" in the title of the recipe) So I just prepared each component of the dish on its own and plated it together. You make a marinade of lemon, garlic and herbs that coats both the potatoes and the salmon before cooking. Its lemony flavor plays against the richness of the salmon. For the greens, the recipe calls for arugula and I'm sure that would be great but I had spinach, so that's what I used. However, I could see how a bitter arugula bite would add even more to the overall result than milder spinach. I do love the bright burst of raisin and a buttery pine nut in the greens too. There's a lot going on here.

This was originally conceived as a restaurant dish and that's the feeling you get when you eat it. The plate feels composed; all the flavors and textures really working together. I will be making this dish again especially now that salmon season is upon us. And the technique of preparing the potatoes is one I'll have to revisit very soon. If I was to drop any part, it would be the lemon oil at the end. I think you could just reserve a little of the marinade for the same effect.

I'm providing the link to the recipe above, but if it doesn't work for you and you want the recipe, just e-mail and I'll send it to you. It is so long; I don't want to put it in the blog.