Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce & Jalapeno Crema

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This recipe is truly restaurant quality - which is not surprising, considering it's a Bobby Flay recipe. A friend of mine, who blogs at Cooking, Baking, and Traveling, shared the recipe awhile back and said it's a favorite of theirs. We, too, loved it.

This is an explosion of flavors - the black beans are quite spicy on their own (I actually might use just 1 chipotle pepper next time for us), the crema is rich with a kick, and the salmon is smoky, sweet, and delicious. Throw in a good amount of chopped green onions on top for crunch and it's a winning combination.

This does have some spice to it but you could adjust it to your taste. For the many layers of flavor that it has, it was actually quite quick to make. I used steelhead trout in place of salmon because it was on sale - it tastes the same (in my opinion...).

Your mini chopper and immersion blender will make this recipe so much easier! If you have a grill, just use that for the salmon.

Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema
Black Bean Sauce:
1 (15 ounce) can of black beans
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
Kosher salt

Salmon:
1/3 cup honey
1 tbs ancho chile powder
1 tbs Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Four (8 ounce) salmon fillets, skin on (I used steelhead trout)
2 tbs cooking oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Jalapeño Crema:
1/2 cup crema, or sour cream
1 large jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and pepper

For the black bean sauce: Preheat a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of oil, then saute the onion and garlic until softened. Add the black beans, chipotle, and cumin. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir together for a few minutes to let the flavors marry. Using an immersion blender, puree the black bean mixture. Keep warm until serving.

For the salmon: To make the glaze, whisk together the honey, ancho chile powder, and mustard in a small bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat a grill pan (or your grill, which is what we used) over high heat. Brush the salmon with oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in the pan, skin side down, and cook until golden brown and a crust has formed, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush the top of the salmon with some of the glaze, flip over the fish, and continue cooking until a crust has formed and the salmon is cooked to medium, about 2 more minutes. The salmon will be pink in the center.

For the Jalapeño Crema: Combine the minced chile and the sour cream in a mini food processor. Puree until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Spoon some of the black bean sauce in the center of your plate. Drizzle with some jalapeno crema. Set the salmon in the center, glazed side up, and brush with more glaze. Drizzle some more crema, if desired, and garnish with the scallions.