Broiled Arctic Char with Smoky Collard Greens

Washington Post Food columnist Ellie Krieger wrote recently about "spring swaps," substituting different ingredients for things you may be over-using in the kitchen.

Salmon certainly gets a lot of use in our home. We have it almost every Monday way as an easy way to start the week with something healthy. But yes, we do suffer "salmon fatigue" from time-to-time, so I welcomed Krieger's suggestion to change-up our salmon night by instead using Arctic char. The fish is similar to salmon in many respects with a similar but milder flavor.

I broiled the Arctic char in a similar fashion to how I cook our salmon but with slightly less time, since the fillet was thinner than I usually get for salmon. I served the fish with collard greens and bacon, a wonderfully smoky accompaniment.

Broiled Arctic Char with Smoky Collard Greens

4oz. thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips

4 garlic cloves, minced (divided)

1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed and discarded, leaves cut into 1-inch strips

1/4 cup water

1-2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Generous pinch of aleppo pepper

Olive oil spray

3/4 lb. arctic char fillet

2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

Generous pinch of hickory-smoked sea salt (may substitute seasoned salt or regular salt)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook and lightly browned and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove grease from the pan in excess of about 2 tbsp.

2. Add 2 tsp. minced garlic to skillet and stir until fragrant, then add the greens and stir to combine with the garlic and gat. Cook about 5 minutes until the greens have wilted. Add 1/4 cup water and cover pan with lid. Decrease heat to medium-low and simmer until the greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and allow any excess moisture to evaporate. Stir in the cooked bacon, vinegar and aleppo pepper.

3. Preheat oven broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with olive oil spray. Place the fish with the skin-side down on the baking sheet. Combine remaining 2 tsp. minced garlic with rosemary, smoked sea salt, pepper and olive oil and spread on top of the fish. Broil about 4 minutes, then the turn the fish over and broil another 4 minutes. Remove and discard the skin. Check for doneness (broil another minute if not cooked through to desired doneness). Serve over collard greens with a squeeze of lemon.