This Place is Worth Saving Salmon Eggplant Panzanella and Guest House Kale

A meditation from the newspaper early on a Sunday morning: from an article on Lafitte, Louisiana, a Gulf South town of about 4,000 people with homes built on stilts just outside the flood protection zone twenty miles south of where I type into this screen. A supplication from a man who has chosen to live in this place doomed to drown within the century:

“‘I hope that people will see that, hey, not only are we fighting hard to exist, but, you know, maybe this place is worth saving.’ The sky began to dim over the bayou.”

Walker Percy couldn’t have written it better. Or maybe David, as it occurred to me as something like a psalm. Waters are rising; are always rising, I suppose; but those who have their ankles in the mud know better the truth of it.

Here I am cooking like there is no tomorrow again. What better way to end a meditation than with a meal?

Crisp Salmon with Sesame Cumin Eggplant Panzanella

Adapted from Food and Wine

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt

Pepper

2 medium eggplants, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons white sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 ounces sesame bread, torn into small pieces

Four 6-ounce skin-on salmon fillets

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Chopped dill, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425. In a small bowl, whisk 6 tablespoons of the olive oil with the tahini, lemon juice and garlic and season with salt and pepper.

Place the eggplant in a medium bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the eggplant. Toss to coat and let stand for 15 minutes. Rinse and gently squeeze the eggplant to remove the excess water; pat dry.

Transfer the eggplant to a rimmed baking sheet. Add all but 1/4 cup of the tahini dressing to the eggplant along with the onion, 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds and the cumin; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast the eggplant for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons of the oil, then toss with the eggplant on the baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the bread and eggplant are golden brown. Spoon the salad onto plates and drizzle with half of the remaining tahini dressing.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the salmon to the skillet skin side down and cook over moderately high heat until the skin is golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Flip the fish, add the butter to the skillet and baste until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Set the salmon on the eggplant and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Garnish with dill and sesame seeds and serve.

This serves as a nice hearty side salad. When I eat it by itself, I add the bacon. When it accompanies something meaty like the above, I omit the bacon and top instead with a lovely lemon or limey vinaigrette.

Guest House Kale with Corn

Adapted from Penzey’s Spices

4 oz. bacon, finely chopped (freezing makes it easy to chop fine)

2 tsp. olive oil

1 large sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 lb. kale, thick ribs discarded (or use for making stock), washed and finely chopped

1 Cup corn kernels

1 TB. Brady St. Cheese Sprinkle

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 325°. Cook the bacon in a pan over medium heat until slightly crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Wipe the bacon drippings from the pan. Heat the olive oil in the pan. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until softened. Add the kale and cook until wilted. Stir in the corn and cook another minute.  In a casserole dish, combine the contents of the pan with the Brady Street Spice, pepper and bacon. Mix well and bake at 325° for 15 minutes.

I know what it is to tread water and believe, forever will believe, this place with its bamboo and hibiscus and magnolia blossoms and jasmine dripping from rot iron and icy mint juleps and jazz riffs and bead-bedazzled live oaks and the bells and booms from street cars and second lines is worth saving. Happy Sunday, holy place.