It's lemon-garlic-oil season

But isn't it always.

Here at 40 Ingredients Forever, recipes are abundant in flavor and joy yet streamlined in process—because they’re all made of the same 40 ingredients.

On a recent podcast, the host wanted to know how I liked to cook spring produce and the answers were oh so boring in their repetition.

Asparagus: Lemony orzo with asparagus and garlic bread crumbs.

Fava beans: grilled, tossed in garlic-lemon oil.

Lamb: with lemon rice.

Lettuces: Tossed with lemon and oil (but less than you think).

The theme? Olive oil, citrus, garlic. The trio comes up in classics like mojo de ajo, salmoriglio, gambas al ajillo, homemade mayo, and elsewhere, but is just as useful when you’re not following a recipe. Especially in the spring, the grassy richness of olive oil, fruity spunk of citrus, and prick of garlic amplifies but doesn’t overshadow the sweet, delicate flavors of spring’s newest and greenest.

So today’s recipe is fish with asparagus, lemon, and garlic—you can probably make a dish with these things without me, but it’s in how all these elements are used that makes today’s recipe pretty fun to make and eat.

Fish is baked in a low-temperature oven in lots of olive oil so the fish gets so relaxed and soft and luxurious. Because the method is forgiving, it works with most fish, from thin to thick and one big piece to individual fillets. (You’re right, it is a lot of oil, but it’s not just a cooking medium here: It’s also our sauce and a flavor in the dish.)

The oil is seasoned with garlic and red pepper flakes—pasta aglio e olio was on the mind, as usual. And since all that oil is there pooling in the skillet, why not put something else in it to cook? 

Inspired by Emilia Petrarca’s dress-up day and the three tote bags on my kitchen floor that have become “the overflow pantry,” last week I took everything out of my pantry to see what exactly was crammed in there. This is an annual activity that always results in more organized shelves and plenty of surprises…like that I have 20 cans of beans. To make some headway on them, the beans from one of my 20 cans got to swim in that garlicky, spicy oil. 

While that’s all happening in the oven, thinly slice asparagus spears and dress them with lemon juice. Coins of raw asparagus—even the chubby spears—are juicy, grassy, a little sweet, and so crisp. Use them like radishes or celery as upbeat bursts in salads, on soups, or here mingled with the tender fish and beans. Spring!

Recipe Family Tree

These links inspired this recipe; maybe they’ll inspire a dinner for you, too?

• Swordfish with Asparagus and Little Beans

• Christina Chaey
  ‘s asparagus spoon salad

• Joy the Baker’s olive oil-braised chickpeas

• Spaghetti aglio e olio

• The slow-roasted salmon with chile oil in I Dream of Dinner

• This spicy slow-roasted salmon

Skillet fish with white beans & asparagus

Serves 4

• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• One (15-ounce) can white beans, such as butter or cannellini

• 1 lemon

• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 1/2 pounds 1-inch-thick fish fillet, such as salmon, arctic char, or cod

• Salt

• 1 bunch of asparagus

1. Heat the oven to 300°F. Peel and thinly slice 6 garlic cloves. Drain and rinse one (15-ounce) can white beans, such as butter or cannellini. Use a vegetable peeler to peel thick strips of zest from 1 lemon.

2. In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil and the garlic over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant, sticky, and just lightly toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon zest and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, then stir in the beans. 

3. Pat dry 1 1/2 pounds 1-inch-thick fish fillet, such as salmon, arctic char, or cod and season with salt. Nestle the fish into the bean mixture, skin side down if there is skin, then spoon some of the oil and beans on top of the fish. Bake until the fish flakes easily, 15 to 25 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, snap off the woody ends from 1 bunch of asparagus. Thinly slice the spears on a diagonal, keeping the tips whole. In a medium bowl, toss with a pinch of salt and the juice from the lemon. 

5. When the fish is done, scatter some of the asparagus and lemon juice over the fish, then serve the fish and beans with plenty of oil and more asparagus and lemon juice on top.

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Slow Roasted Fish With White Beans & Asparagus Ali Slagle's 40 Ingredients Forever

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SWAPS

• Garlic: Leeks, scallions, shallots, green garlic. Ramps?!

• White beans: Use chickpeas, lima beans, or fava beans. I wonder if frozen peas would work too? Or tiny potatoes?

• Lemon: The lemon brings acidity to cut through the richness of all that oil. A light vinegar, like white wine vinegar, could be used instead.

• Olive oil: Virgin coconut oil or butter would both work.

• Red pepper flakes: A fresh chile, like jalapeno or a red Fresno, would be cool.

• Fish: Instead of fish, you could add broccoli rabe or another vegetable, shrimp, or boneless chicken breasts to the oil-bean mixture (cook time might need to be adjusted). You can also omit the fish and have some delicious, silky oil-braised beans. 

• Asparagus: The asparagus here is a crunchy, fresh bite. You could use thinly sliced radishes, celery, cucumbers, fennel, kohlrabi, snap peas and/or soft-stem herbs (like dill or cilantro).

THINGS TO ADD 

• There are so many aromatics you could add to this oil with the red pepper flakes, from whole or ground spices (fennel seeds, garam masala, smoked paprika) to briny additions (anchovies, olives capers) to herby additions (fresh oregano, dried mint, etc). You could do a butter + anchovy + garlic + oil for a bagna cauda kind of deal.

• You could some cherry tomatoes with the garlic so they soften and slouch with the beans.

• Eat this with a starch (pasta, rice, couscous) or another green vegetable (like an arugula or kale salad or braised broccoli rabe).

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Editing and recipe testing: Cybelle Tondu

Brand design: Linda Huang