Crispy-Skin Salmon With Miso-Honey Sauce

Quick cooking, not-too-expensive, and super satisfying, salmon fillets are a weeknight dinner slam dunk—and our go-to method for making them is pretty much un-mess-up-able. The key is starting the fillets skin side down in a not-preheated cast iron skillet, cranking the heat, and letting the skin slowly render and crisp. (Kind of how we did in our recipe for Coconut-Curry Braised Chicken Thighs, remember?) This ensures that the flesh cooks gently (and mostly on one side), so that all it needs is a quick flip and another minute or so to get you to a perfect medium-rare. (Yeah, you really shouldn't be cooking your salmon all the way through.) And if you're not the kind of person who keeps miso paste on hand at all times, well, the salty-sweet sauce that goes with the fish is going to be the thing that changes your mind. It's the kind of umami-packed powerhouse ingredient that makes throw-together sauces taste like they took forever to make, and we like to add a dab to everything from soups and stews to marinades and salad dressings when we want a kick of salt and flavor. Cook up a proper pot of rice, and dinner is served.