Blackened Salmon and Pinot Noir

I used my cast iron skillet to make blackened salmon last night--it was so juicy and flavorful! I posted a blackened salmon recipe for a salad last year, this one is spicer to contrast with the creamy flavor of the fava bean risotto. The salmon had a lovely crispy, herb crust around it from being seared and cooked on cast iron. We paired it with a bottle of the 2007 ArborBrook Heritage Cuvee Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley--a rich, smooth Pinot that was in a Touring and Tasting wine club in a previous month  (I see it's also here) but you could pair one of the Pinot specials from the Online Grapevine as well.

BLACKENED SALMON:
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp. salt or sel gris
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. coriander
1 Tbsp. turmeric
1 Tbsp. tarragon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. garlic powder
4 salmon fillets
olive oil
Grind the spices together with a mortar and pestle and coat the salmon fillets with the spice mixture. Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of your cast iron pan until the bottom is coated. Heat over medium for a couple minutes without letting the oil smoke. Place the fillets in the pan, turn the heat to lowest setting and cover loosely with lid or tin foil. Let cook for about 10 minutes or until you can see that the bottom of the fillets are firm. Turn them carefully and let cook another couple of minutes uncovered. Serve immediately with fava bean risotto.

You may wonder why you have to stir the risotto for the entire cooking process. I've found the two main factors in making great risotto are good quality Arborio rice and tenacity in stirring the risotto during the entire cooking process. Risotto will never attain the creaminess without constant stirring which loosens the outer layer of the rice as it cooks and mixes it with the broth to make a thick sauce. So roll up your sleeves and be prepared to tone your upper arms when you make risotto!
FRESH FAVA BEAN AND RISOTTO:

This was my last crop of fava beans. Because I picked them fresh, I didn't need to blanch the beans to soften the outer peel in order to peel them after popping the beans out of their pods. The outer shell of fava beans from the store are often hardened and difficult to peel.
3 Tbsp. butter
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup good white wine
2 cups fresh, peeled fava beans
4 cups chicken or broth
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
3/4 cup grated good quality Parmesan cheese
Prepare to be stirring the risotto for about half an hour--have everything ready and in arm's reach. Heat the broth until just below boiling, then turn off heat. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the wine , turn up the heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring until wine is absorbed. Add a cup of the hot broth and continue cooking and stirring until broth is absorbed, repeat this with the next 3 cups of broth. After you add the last cup, cook and stir until broth is half absorbed, then add the lava beans, salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring until the broth is absorbed, then add cheese and stir until cheese is mixed in. Serve hot with blackened salmon and a glass of Pinot Noir. Serves 4.