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Now that fresh salmon is harder to come by, I'm in the mood for salmon recipes that need a little marinating. If you are lucky enough to be in the Puget Sound area (or somewhere else where fresh, wild salmon is plentiful), you know that truly fresh salmon doesn't smell fishy. However, even the freshest fish, once frozen and defrosted, sometimes gets just a bit of that well known scent.

We buy almost all of our salmon from Wilson Fish. During the summer months, they sell salmon that's so fresh, they don't even want you to tell it that it's dead. Some days we are lucky enough to get fish that has been out of the water less than 36 hours.

While they were fishing this summer, and selling lots of fresh fish, they were also flash freezing King Salmon, Coho Salmon, and Halibut. You can still find them at the Ballard Farmers Market every Sunday, selling their frozen fish. We picked up a nice 3/4 pound Coho fillet the other day and our CSA box from Growing Washington contained a colorful bunch of Swiss Chard this week.

So last night, after a long day at work, we set about to make this recipe. 20 minutes later we were sitting down to a delicious, nutritious, and local dinner. The original recipe called for a salmon steak, but I often have trouble finding those at the market. Most of the fish we buy from Wilson's has the skin on. So I've included two sets of instructions. Use the bold version for a fillet and the italicized version for a steak.

Sauteed Swiss Chard and Salmon (adapted from Whole Foods)

Serves 2

• 3/4 to 1 lb salmon fillet or steak
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard
• 1-2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1-2 Tbsp soy sauce (preferably low sodium)
• 1/2 an onion
• Splash of lemon juice (optional)

1. In a casserole dish or bowl large enough to hold the salmon, combine 1 Tbsp of the sesame oil and 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce.
2. If you've got a fillet, lay it skin side up in the dish and marinate for 10 minutes. If you've got a steak with no skin, cut it into 1 inch cubes and marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, separate the Swiss Chard leaves from the stems. The easiest way to do this is to fold the leaf in half lengthwise and pull the leaves off. Roughly chop the leaves and dice the stems into 1/2 inch pieces.
4. Dice or slice half an onion.
5. If you've got a salmon fillet, now is the time to throw it on the grill.
6. In a stir fry pan or wok, heat 1 Tbsp of the sesame oil over medium heat.
7. Cook the onions for 2 minutes.
8. Add the chard stems and cook for another 3 minutes.
9. Add the leaves and cook for another 2 minutes, until the leaves are moderately wilted.
10. If you've got cubes of salmon steak, remove the chard and onions from the pan, keep warm, and throw the salmon cubes and the marinating liquid into the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.
11. Serve the chard alongside the salmon and drizzle a small amount of lemon juice over the top. If you have extra cooking juices from either salmon or chard, you can drizzle those over the top as well.

Patricia's Notes: The strong flavor of the soy sauce helps cut any fishy flavor from frozen salmon. You can cook the chard for as long or as short as you want. I prefer my chard a little on the raw side, as fully wilted chard often tastes a bit bitter to me. The lemon juice just brightens up the flavors a bit, but you certainly don't need it. A bit of minced ginger would also go well in this dish. For a more dramatic presentation, sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top.