There is no fish I can think of that doesn’t work with spinach. But where creamed spinach seems perfectly fine with a steak of halibut or haddock, the richer, oily fish such as salmon are more appropriately matched to the leaves in a simpler state. A mouthful of lemon salad, at once breathtakingly sharp, is more than at home on the same fork as a piece of salmon or a bunch of meltingly soft spinach. Bring all three together and you have a dish of extraordinary vitality.

　　

Ingredients

enough for 2

　　salmon – two 8-to 9-ounce (225 to 250g) pieces

　　olive oil

　　spinach – 1 pound (500g)

　　

For the Salad

lemons – 2

　　superfine sugar – 2 teaspoons

　　olive oil – 2 tablespoons

　　flat-leaf parsley – a small bunch

　　capers – a heaping tablespoon

　　

Step 1

Brush the salmon on both sides with olive oil, then season with salt. Get a nonstick frying pan hot. Place the fish, skin side down, in the pan and cook over medium heat for four or five minutes, until the skin has crisped. Turn, cover with a lid, and cook for a further five minutes or so, until the fish is lightly cooked through to the center.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, make the salad by cutting away the skin and white pith from the lemons with a sharp knife and slicing the lemons thinly. Put them into a bowl with the sugar, olive oil, and a good handful of parsley leaves, left whole. Add the capers and toss the salad gently. Let sit for a few minutes, during which time the sharpness of the lemon will mellow a little.

　　

Step 3

Wash the spinach thoroughly, then steam in a lidded pan for a minute or two, until tender. Drain.

　　

Step 4

Put the lemon salad and the spinach on warm plates and slide on the salmon.

　　Tender