Taste & Travel

Citrusy Bean Salad with Arctic Char

arCtiC Char has a beautifull­y silky texture when served cold. Here it is combined with different textured beans — soft limas and snappy edamame. Cherry tomatoes and a brightly acidic vinaigrett­e tie everything together. The cooking time for the fish will vary depending on how thick your fillets are. Pay attention to the colour of the fish to judge doneness. It is better to undercook the fish than overcook it.

Arctic Char

2 fillets, thawed if frozen

Olive or Vegetable Oil 2 tsp

Edamame 1 cup

Canned Lima Beans 1 cup

Cherry Tomatoes 8, halved

Green Onion 1 small, sliced

Flat Leaf Parsley a handful, chopped

Zest and Juice of 1 Lime

White Wine Vinegar 1 Tbs

Capers 1 Tbs, rinsed

Grain Mustard 1 Tsp

Fresh Basil a few leaves, chopped

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 Tbs

Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

1 HEAT the oil in a non-stick skillet or wellseason­ed cast iron pan. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the fillets of char and cook, undisturbe­d for 4–5 minutes, or until the bottom third of the fish has turned opaque. Turn the fish and cook for another 3–4 minutes, or until the fish is almost completely opaque but with a thin band of pink in the centre.

2 REMOVE the fish from the pan and refrigerat­e until cold. It can hold in the fridge for up to 24 hours if you prefer to complete this step ahead of time.

3 BRING a small pot of water to the boil and blanch the edamame for 2 minutes. Drain and cool. If the beans are in their pods, shell them and discard the pods.

4 DRAIN the lima beans, rinse under cold water and drain again.

5 COMBINE the edamame, lima beans, green onion, cherry tomatoes and parsley in a bowl.

6 IN another bowl, whisk together the lime juice and zest, vinegar, capers, mustard, basil and olive oil to make the vinaigrett­e. Season well with salt and pepper.

7 GENTLY toss the bean salad with half of the dressing, then divide between two serving plates.