Salmon 'a la Riojana'

La Rioja is a region in northern Spain famous for its excellent wines. Although it is landlocked, fish dishes are very popular.

INGREDIENTS (4 people):

• 4 large, wide slices of salmon
• 1 dozen dehydrated sweet peppers
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 tablespoon of white wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of paprika (hot or sweet, to taste, traditional is sweet)
• Salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

First, we wash and cut the dry ​​peppers into strips, removing the seeds. We put them in a saucepan with cold water and sinc they float, the pertinent thing is to place an inverted lid or a plate that forces them to be submerged.

We bring the water to a boil and when it happens we close the fire, leaving it to soak for about an hour. This ensures that they hydrate well.

Once the time has elapsed, we drain them and place them in the bottom of a flat earthenware pot or a frying pan (the first is the traditional, but hey, if you don't have one or your fire is glass-ceramic with a normal frying pan also works well). Keep the water where we have boiled the peppers, it will be used later.

We salt the salmon slices on both sides and place them on the bed of peppers.

In a separate frying pan we pour a generous jet of olive oil and in it we fry 2 sliced ​​garlic cloves. When they are golden brown, add the tablespoon of wheat flour and work it until it is dissolved in the oil and toasted. We turn off the heat and add the paprika, stirring well, when the oil is not so hot. This is important because if it is, it can be burnt and give a bitter taste. Reserve. There are people who remove the sliced ​​garlic and others who leave it, it goes to taste.

We place the pot of fish on the fire at medium power and pour the water where we have cooked the peppers until it covers it flush.

Next, we pour the flour mixture with the fried garlic slices on top and let it cook over medium heat, moving the clay pot from back to front with some frequency so that the broth emulsifies and binds well. 20 minutes should be more than enough, although it will depend on the thickness of the slice. The salmon changes color and this change is visible throughout the thickness of the piece through the sides.

Before serving, rectify the salt and just before, if you want, chop the parsley and the remaining garlic clove to decorate the slices on top.

First some strips of pepper are individually plated, then the salmon slice and on top a little broth seasoned by the mince. It's really yummy.

And if it seems to you that it is too strong, you can use white fish (hake for example) reducing the amount of garlic to use. It is also possible to use fish fillets but it is important that they all have the same size so that when making the movement of binding the sauce it is distributed evenly. That is the main reason to use slices instead of loins.