Salmon w/ spinach cream sauce

 

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 6 oz salmon filets
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup vegetable broth
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 9-12 oz fresh spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
• kosher salt and pepper and paprika to your liking 
• I serve my salmon on a bed of mashed potatoes 

Instructions

• Pat the salmon filets dry with a paper towel. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, until shimmering. Be careful that it doesn't smoke. The pan must be hot so the salmon doesn't stick to it and gets nice and crispy. Add salmon, skin side up and sear for 3 minutes, until light brown. Flip and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes or more, skin side down, depending on the thickness of your salmon and well-cooked you want it. Times are for medium to medium well. 
• Remove the salmon from pan and set aside. If there is a lot of excess oil in the pan, wipe it with a paper towel. Add butter along with the garlic and shallot, cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring often with a wood spoon. Add vegetable broth, red pepper flakes, and cream, bringing everything to a low simmer over medium heat. Stir consistently until the sauce thickens and reduces by almost half. Add spinach and stir until lightly wilted - around 2-3 minutes. Season the spinach cream sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch of paprika.
• Nestle the salmon filets back into the spinach cream sauce and top with parsley.