Information
Notes
What do you imagine chefs keep in their refrigerators? Well, the inside of mine is no centerfold for a decorating magazine; it’s usually pretty empty because I rarely cook at home. But one food I can count on to be in there is miso. Miso never goes bad, and one bag has a seemingly infinite life.
Ingredients
- 6 cubanelle peppers (also “Italian frying peppers”)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Ground pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large sweet onions, such as Maui or Vidalia, peeled and cut into rings 1-inch wide
- ½ cup light-colored miso
- 1 teaspoon Japanese mustard paste, preferably S&B brand, or other prepared mustard
- 4 skinless salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each
Directions
Light a gas burner or flame grill. Hold a pepper with tongs directly over the flame and roast until blackened, rotating for even blistering. Place pepper in a paper bag and loosely fold bag. Repeat with remaining peppers. When cool, peel and seed. Cut 4 peppers into 1-inch squares. Reserve scraps. (Or, if you have only an electric oven, roast peppers in a baking pan for 45 minutes at 350°F, rotating them every 15 minutes.)
Chop remaining 2 peeled peppers and place in blender along with reserved scraps. Add ¼ cup of the oil and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
In a shallow pan over low heat, combine butter, onion rings, ¼ cup water, and a sprinkle each of salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook until onions are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Add pepper purée and stir to bind onions with purée.
In a bowl, whisk together miso, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, and 2 tablespoons oil, mustard, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and several twists of ground pepper. Arrange fillets on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush a generous amount of miso dressing on the top sides of the fillets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer fillets to a broiler and broil until tops are lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
To serve, dollop some onion-pepper mixture on each of 4 plates. Lay a salmon fillet on the sauce and garnish servings with roasted cubanelle pepper squares. Serve immediately.