I'm Dating a Vegetarian: salmon and melting cherry tomatoes

My vegetarian started incorporating seafood into his diet a few years ago. This is lucky for me because it opens up a lot more options. I’d say ¼ of our meals include seafood. This particular dish was stupid good. I plan on making the tomato mixture again by itself just to serve bruschetta style.

Serves: 4

Time: 35 minutes *I set off the fire alarm during this one… soooo it was more like an hour for us.

Gather up:

Olive oil

1 cup chopped sweet onion

2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves

1 (2 pound) salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces

Get to work:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium (10-inch) saute pan. Add the onion and saute over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the tomato sauce thickens slightly.

Off the heat, stir in the vinegar and basil.

Place a large 12-inch cast-iron pan over high heat for 5 minutes. Brush the salmon all over with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, and place it skin side up in the pan. Cook the fish for 3 to 4 minutes without moving, until browned.

this is where the smoke alarm went off...

Turn the salmon skin side down with a metal spatula and transfer the pan to the oven for 8 minutes. (The salmon will not be completely cooked through).

Remove the fish to a serving platter, cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes to finish cooking.