Can you see it there in the dark light? It’s some delicious Salsa Salmon with Brown Rice and a very quick Black Bean Soup, (I promise you). For some reason, the three (3) cameras in my home managed to fail last week all at once. I was cooking in the mid evening, and watching the sun slowly descend as I tried painstakingly to compose the shot and take some photos – oh, no battery – gah, wrong lens – wait! why won’t you take photo without flash – sometimes these are the things you have to deal with.
But let me tell you a bit about this stuff. It was goooood. Really, really, completely satisfyingly good. I might end up making it every week good. It’s something you can put together without much effort and most of it is hands off, if you have a little time to wait and let the flavors marinate.
The secret? Store bought salsa. About an hour before eating, I take my pieces of salmon out into a dish, and coat them with about a cup of salsa – I used Mrs. Renfro’s Habanero Mango Salsa- and shove it back into the refrigerator. This can sit here for an hour or more (more is better) and if you want, you can check it halfway or so and turn the fish over.
Then I get started on the brown rice. Brown rice is fickle. I’d give you an exact time of how long it takes to cook, but it seems to depend on a thousand variables that I can’t quite pin down. Usually I check Mark Bittman’s ‘How to Cook Everything’ to check up on grain cooking times. It usually takes me about an hour. When the brown rice is done, I turn off the heat, cover it with a cloth, put the lid back on, and get a start on the rest of the meal. I get the black bean soup started, and once it’s going, then take the salmon out and cook it- usually it takes about five minutes on each side on medium heat for how I like it (a little rare).
When everything is done, you can plate it, and serve it with the rest of the salsa from the jar.
Really Quick Black Bean Soup
serves 2 or 3 as a generous side
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heart of leek, chopped (or small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon chile powder
1 large heirloom tomato, chopped
1 can black beans, undrained
salt and pepper
Method:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat, and add leek (or onion) and garlic, and cook for about five minutes, stirring so they don’t brown.
2. Add the spices, and give a stir. Then add in your tomato and your beans, and let cook for ten minutes or so on medium heat, and season to taste.
It’s almost as easy as opening a red can of pre-made Goya black bean soup mix, except you know, it’s better for you.
