black peppered salmon with spinach, feta and clams

we have a fantastic market here in bangkok that i have mentioned before in other posts, the emporium on sukhumvit soi 24, 5th floor. i enjoy going there and picking up some fresh meat or fish and then using some already prepared items from the store to easily put together a meal. it saves time, and it is also very cost effective. it also keeps the kitchen cool on a very hot bangkok day because there is considerably less cooking going on.

this dish was inspired by a very nice fresh piece of salmon and hard shell clams from the seafood department and some cream of spinach soup that was on the hot food bar that day. the soups at the emporium are great. always made with the freshest ingredients and the cream soups incorporate a non-dairy (soy) cream product that is very tasty and also good for you.

what you will need for this "assembly" is:

• fresh, boneless, skinless salmon
• fresh, hard shell clams, the smaller the beter
• cream of spinach soup or puree of spinach soup. (i think this would also be good with tomato soup as well)
• not-to-salty, soft feta cheese
• fresh, cleaned spinach
• fresh, ground, black pepper
• sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil
• sun-dried tomato pesto
• parsley for garnish

NOTE: all quantities are relative to achieving what you see in the picture below, for the amount of people you are serving. also, you will see there are an odd number of spinach,clam & feta garnish surrounding the fish. 9, an odd number, is what is considered by some to be a "magic number", meaning it looks better than an even number of whatever it is that you are using for garnish.

how its done:

1. rub the salmon with a small amount of olive oil and and season with as much fresh, ground black pepper as you like. do this on both sides. set to the side.
2. wash the clams in cold water to remove any sand. boil a small amount of water, add some sea salt, and then add the clams and cover. Note: do not use so much water that the clams are covered, you are only steaming them, not boiling them.
3. when the clams have opened remove them from the liquid and set to the side. RESERVE the liquid.
4. heat the soup and add some of the clam broth to infuse additional flavor.
5. after the clams have cooled to the point where you can handle them, remove them from the shell and reserve. do not rinse the clams, that will wash away so much of the flavor. they will seem sticky, don't worry about that if the clams are fresh. BE CAREFUL HANDLING THE HOT CLAMS.
6. heat a heavy bottomed skillet to almost smoking and CAREFULLY add the salmon. sear for 1 to 2 minutes, covered, and turn. sear again for 1 - 2 minutes, covered, and turn onto one side. sear again and then turn to sear the last side. this locks in all the juices and the flavor. the cooking time depends on the size of the pieces and how many are in the pan. also on whether you like your fish medium rare or well cooked. use your judgment. let the salmon rest in the pan covered. it will continue to cook.
7. slice the feta as shown in the picture.
8. using some of the reserved clam broth steam the cleaned spinach until it turns a nice dark green color.
9. now it is time to assemble the dish.
10. spoon a portion of the spinach soup/sauce onto the plate. place the cooked salmon on top of it. surround the fish with the steamed spinach, and top with a clam, and then a dab of the sun-dried tomato pesto. (basil pesto is also good, but the green is a bit redundant and basil pesto is a bit over bearing i think.)
11. serve with rice, pasta, risotto, boiled potatoes, whatever you prefer, or nothing at all as shown in the picture.

enjoy.