Everything is better with pork: Salmon with Prosciutto, lentils with yogurt and wilted spinach

I like early fall. It means that here, in Raleigh, it's no longer 90 degrees everyday. And that's the signal I use for firing up the oven.

Turning the oven in summer is an idiotic enterprise that only raises the temperature of my home and, subsequently, jacks up my already high electric bill.

So I don't do it. I wait until autumn to do any roasting, and then, only short snippets. I mean, it's not that cool yet.

At this time of year, if I do anything in a hot oven, it needs to go in and  come out quickly. That doesn't leave much time for big flavors to meld.

The solution: thinly sliced pork.

Now, despite what my vegetarian friends tell me, I still believe that everything tastes better with pork. Don't believe me? Take almost any recipe from the famous Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home from 1994 (save the desserts, ' natch) and add pork. Almost all of them come out better because, as Emeril LaGasse says, "pork fat rules".

I love to cook on Saturday nights and this is one of my favorites: Salmon, wrapped in prosciutto, served with lentils and yogurt and wilted spinach. It's a simple, two pan / two mixing bowl dish that only takes about 20 minutes to cobble together. And since the prosciutto is so thinly sliced as to be translucent, it crisps up beautifully in only a few minutes. Oven on. Oven off.

What you need:

• Salmon filets – 6 to 8 ounce portions should work fine. They should be long and narrow as opposed to short and wide, for reason that will become obvious
  
• 8 slices of prosciutto – the prepackaged stuff will work fine
  
• 8 ounces of cooked lentils – cooked pretty firm. You don't want mushy lentils. The pre-cooked stuff from Trader Joe's works great.
  
• ½ cup plain yogurt – I like Greek yogurt for this assembly
  
• A handful of spinach, coarsely chopped
  
• Juice of a lemon
  
• Olive oil – here you can break out the EVOO but it's not necessary
  
• Thyme, basil and oregano, coarsely chopped
  

How to do it:

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
  
• Season the salmon with salt and pepper, then wrap the prosciutto around the salmon, leaving some areas of the fish exposed.
  
• Place in a pan, and douse with a bit of olive oil
  
• Broil it for 10 minutes or so. If you like it pinker, go less.
  
• Meanwhile, take your cooked lentils and drain most of the water out. Add your chopped spinach and herbs, then crank up the heat, cooking the spinach and herbs until just wilted.
  
• Now take your yogurt and combine it with the lemon juice and about a quarter as much olive oil. Whisk so everything gets blended. Now it's time to plate,
  
• Place on piece of your beautiful salmon on a plate. In a bowl, take your lentils and spinach and toss with you lemon yogurt sauce. Arrange on the plate with your salmon.

Simple, easy and healthy. The prosciutto adds a nice salty edge to the salmon while the lentils and spinach balance everything out.



Bon Appetit!