Honey Apple Cider Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unfiltered apple juice or apple cider, not hard cider
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 4 salmon fillets
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon slices for garnish

Directions

1. Combine the apple cider and honey in a small, shallow pan set over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then keep it bubbling until it has cooked down by about half and you have a little more than 1/4 cup of glaze. Set it aside briefly so it can cool for a minute.
2. Set the salmon fillets in a rimmed dish that holds them in one layer, with the skin facing down if your fillets have skin. Pour the honey-cider mixture over the fish. Leave the salmon in the glaze for 5 minutes, then flip the pieces and let them soak for another 5 minutes.
3. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. A pan with a fairly nonstick surface, such as hard anodized aluminum, is helpful here. Season the meaty side of the salmon with salt, then lay the fillets in the hot pan with that side facing down and the skin facing up. Cook on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, brushing glaze over the sides of the fish as it cooks.
4. Flip the salmon so the skin side is now against the pan, then coat the tops with the rest of the honey-cider glaze. Add the lemon juice over the fish, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, just until the salmon is barely cooked through.
5. Take the skillet off the heat. If glaze has caramelized in the pan, sweep those juices over the salmon with a pastry brush. Cover the fillets with foil so they stay warm.
6. For the spinach, set another large skillet over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add the baby spinach and cook for a minute. Once the leaves start to soften, turn them with tongs so they pick up a light coating of butter. Season with salt and pepper, then continue cooking for a couple of minutes more, until the spinach has wilted.
7. Divide the spinach among 4 plates. Place a salmon fillet alongside or on top of the spinach, and finish each plate with a lemon slice.