You have to love all of the fresh vegetables available at this time of year. The beans are amazing, whether it be green beans, yellow beans, runner beans or favas, they just taste great. I always like to find new ways to use them, that often get pretty creative. Sometimes though, something a little more classic and robust is in order. This fits that bill. For once, this dish isn’t really about the salmon. Shock horror! This is a salute to all the vegetables at this time of year.
Just a walk around a farmers market is inspiring at this time of year. So much produce. So many possibilities. The Ballard farmers market has been my favorite for a long time, even though it is a bit of a drive for us. I get a lot of my weekly produce from the local stalls there, and have never been dissapointed. For this dish we have a mixture of green beans, yellow beans, burgundy beans, fava beans, potatoes, fennel, walla walla onion and garlic. Phew. A lot of veggies. But that is a good thing. I often get stuck cooking the same veg, and this is a great way to work with different vegetables (and to get your fair share of them!).
This really couldn’t be simpler to be honest. Part boil the potatoes until almost tender. Boil the podded fava beans for two minutes. Dump the fava’s in ice water to cool them off, then peal off the inner shell of each bean. The fennel, onion and garlic are thinly sliced up. In a large pan, these are slowly sauteed in a little olive oil. Care should be taken not to brown them, but just to soften them up nicely. Add a good glass of white wine, and that cooks down till the alcohol smell burns off. In goes all of the beans (not including the favas). Put a few cups of vegetable broth into the mix. Cover, and let it boil away until the beans are almost cooked. Throw in the potatoes and fava beans, and gently toss. Finally, scatter in some chopped parsley.
All this gets turned out onto a plate. The salmon is slowly pan seared on both sides. The crispy skin is a great contrast to vegetables.
I am rather ticked at the burgundy beans though. When bought they are this fantastic black color. Once cooked in this mix though they changed to a dark green. Not sure if this is how they cook or not.. I have never cooked them before. Maybe too much of the broth got into them, and they changed color. Who knows, but I was hoping that they would stay that rich black color. Still, it all tasted fantastic to be honest, so who cares!
The broth was fantasticly warm, yet still light. The potatoes added the much needed robustness to the dish. The broth was light, yet had a rich vegetable taste to it. Just perfect with that great fillet of salmon.
On a side note.. Best man speech is nearly done, and groom is getting suitably nervous. And he should be. His speech at my wedding was awesome, and well, I have to return the favor.
