Southwest Arctic Char Caesar Salad with Manchego-Jalapeno Beer Bread

This meal, as you have guessed, was originally meant to be a Southwest Salmon Caesar Salad. Does that sound more normal now? But, alas, when I went to Whole Foods the Char looked amazing and I could not resist. And the spirit of cooking is throwing out the recipe book and playing along!

This salad does a great job of replicating the taste of your favorite caesar salad at a restaurant without anywhere near the same number of calories. And with the freshly prepared arctic char on top, it is plenty filling for an entree and still delicious!

I paired the salad with some freshly made bread - specifically Manchego-Jalapeno Beer Bread. I cannot extol the virtues of Beer Bread enough. If you made the basic version I wrote about a couple months back, you must understand what I am talking about. It is very fast and easy to make and provides a slightly different taste than other breads - just enough to draw your interest. While basic plain beer bread is fabulous, this one spices it up a bit with Manchego cheese and some Jalapenos. But don't worry - read ahead to find out how to make it without being spicy!

Southwest Artic Char Caesar Salad
As I discussed above, this recipe was originally meant to be a Southwest Salmon Caesar. The dressing sounded a little odd to me at first, but I dove right in... and ignored the anchovies. It tasted great. Everything blended together to provide a genuine Caesar taste at far fewer calories than you would get in a restaurant or out of a bottle.

For the fish you'll lightly add some spices and cook in a pan. Keep in mind that while similar in color and taste, Arctic Char is a good deal thinner than Salmon. You will not have to cook it as long on the stove. You can check it the same way you would check Salmon - the middle should be pink all the way through rather than the deeper orange with which you started.

Manchego-Jalapeno Beer Bread
The beauty of beer bread? You dump in some flour, some miscellaneous ingredients, and a bottle of beer. You stir and bake. Forget about yeast, rising, punching down, and struggling to find a place in your house that is 85 degrees Fahrenheit to let your bread rise... and in the dark covered with a towel. Beer bread is simple and quick to make.

Although I am a big fan of original beer bread, this recipe mixes it up with some cheese and spice. For those of you not familiar with Manchego, its mild and tart all at the same time. You won't find it shredded, so buy a chunk of it fresh and pull out your cheese grater. There is nothing like fresh cheese in your freshly made bread!

Not a fan of spicy? Well, neither am I. Believe it or not, jalapenos do not have to be spicy. The secret is to get rid of the pulp and seeds on the inside. The shell of the pepper has flavor but no actual spice. I used one jalapeno after I carefully removed the insides. You can make it mild as I did, spicy using the whole pepper, or anywhere in between by using just a little.

I enjoyed my beer bread plain, but stick on your favorite spread or even just butter if you want a little more flavor.

Enjoy!