Tuscan Salmon with Rosemary Orzo

In keeping with the theme of simple meals and those that require rosemary (seriously, I had a ton of rosemary to go through) I found this recipe on epicurious. Even though I cut the recipe in half, I managed to eat this three days in a row. While fish can sometimes be tricky as leftovers, this turned out to be just as good the next day. This is a great option when cooking for one.

Tuscan Salmon with Rosemary Orzo (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. orzo
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
• 1 TB chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 salmon fillets (5 ounces each), skin on
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TB chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 2 TB chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Cook orzo as directed on package until al dente.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 1/2 cup onion and rosemary until onion softens, 9 minutes. Combine with orzo in a bowl.

Season salmon with 1 tablespoon basil, salt and pepper. Heat same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook salmon until golden, 5 minutes per side, flesh side down first; set aside.

Add garlic and remaining 1 cup onion to skillet; cook until soft, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and olives; cook until tomatoes break up, 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in parsley and remaining 1/4 cup basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve fish over orzo; top with tomato mixture.

Salmon with Sriracha Sauce

It's some kind of cruel punishment when you can't spell something you cook with often. This is the case with Sriracha Sauce. I always have a bottle of it in my fridge, I cook with it often, yet I always have to triple check the spelling. A friend of mine has often referred to it as Rooster Sauce (because of the image on the bottle) and I might have to start doing the same. Cock-a-doodle-doo. Have I mentioned I haven't been sleeping well lately? :)

So this is a very simple recipe that I got from SELF magazine, which included a feature on Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook: "It's All Good."  Of course, they indicate in the recipe that you can buy the book to get Gwyneth's personal sriracha sauce recipe, but I'm good with the rooster. This had a nice flavor to it and wasn't overly spicy. I might opt to marinade the salmon in this for a bit before cooking. But I like my food like I like my men...muy caliente.

Salmon with Sriracha Sauce (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Juice and zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 TB maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 1/4 lbs salmon fillet, skin removed
• 2 TB coarsely chopped cilantro

Directions:
Heat oven to 425°.

In a bowl, whisk together juice, zest, syrup, sriracha and salt.

Place salmon in a baking dish lined with parchment paper; pour lime-maple mixture over top. Roast salmon until cooked through and flaky, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro; serve.

I served this with asparagus and the orzo spinach salad I made last week. I'm practically making that salad once a week now. It's awesome.

Mustard Salmon with Oven Tomatoes

This post is proof that I don't always succeed in the kitchen. Last weekend, I tried out a bunch of new, light recipes as part of my post-birthday carb detox and to prepare me for a busy week at work where I'd be unlikely to do much cooking after work. As I posted earlier in the week, I made an amazing PB stew. That was the highlight. This was the lowlight. Perhaps I overcooked the tomatoes, or didn't really get a good piece of salmon, but I threw out the leftovers. I just couldn't see eating this again.

Mustard Salmon with Oven Tomatoes (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For Salmon

• 3 TB rosemary leaves, chopped
• 3 TB fresh thyme
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/4 pound salmon fillets without the skin
• 4 TB dijon mustard, grainy variety

For Tomatoes

• 3 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/3 panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a 9-inch glass pie plate, combine tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon oil, salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; toss to coat and then spread into a single layer.

In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, oregano, thyme, garlic, remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper; rub oil into breadcrumbs with your fingers. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over tomatoes. Bake until breadcrumbs are golden and tomato juices are bubbling around edges, about 30 to 35 minutes.

For the salmon, prepare the grill for direct, medium-heat cooking. Mix the rosemary, thyme and pepper in a small bowl.

Spray the bottom of the fish fillets with cooking spray. Spread 1 tablespoon mustard on the top of each fillet. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the herb mixture on top of each.

Place fish herb-side up on the grate directly over the heat. Cover the grill and cook until the fish flakes when gently scraped with a fork, about 12 minutes. 

Citrus Glazed Salmon with Avocado Salad

When it comes to food, I don't discriminate based on looks. It can be a sloppy plate of food with a variety of components melding together, and I'll still eat it. I also have an appreciation for food that looks too pretty to eat (but I eat it anyway!). When I decided to cook this dish the other night, I  reviewed the recipe on my friend's blog, www.macheesmo.com. His pictures made this look so appealing and I can't even begin to compete with his presentation. However, what I did end up with was a pretty dish of food...and the avocado salad, which was basically a deconstructed guacamole, is something I will definitely make again.

Citrus Glazed Salmon with Avocado Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds fresh salmon fillet
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 limes, juice only
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 2 TB rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 inches fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 avocados
• 1/4 red onion, minced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• Handful of cilantro, minced
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

For the glaze, add orange juice, lemon juice, juice of 1 lime, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, scallions, ginger and garlic to a small pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved. Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until glaze is reduced to 1/3. Strain sauce.

For salad, finely dice red onion, cilantro and jalapeno, add a pinch of salt and mix with juice 1 lime. Slice the avocado and put onion/jalapeno mixture on top. Set aside.

Grill salmon, skin side up, over high heat, for about 3-4 minutes. Flip. Once flipped, start brushing on glaze. Continue to brush on glaze until salmon is finished - about another 3 minutes.

Serve salmon with rice and avocado salad.

Honey and Lime Glazed Salmon with Warm Corn Bean Salad

This week I decided to go back to an old favorite. With the weather getting warmer, I wanted something light to start off the week. Plus, I was having company for dinner and when that happens, I usually like to stick with something familiar that I know to cook very well. This is one of those recipes, from my Rachel Ray's 365 No Repeats cookbook. I haven't made much in this cookbook that I'd repeat on a regular basis, but this is one recipe I've made at least a dozen times.

Honey and Lime Glazed Salmon with Warm Corn Bean Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium limes, juiced
• 3 TB honey
• 1 tsp chili powder
• Four 6-ounce salmon fillets
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 10 oz box of frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 TB freshly chopped cilantro
• 6 cups baby spinach (one bag of spinach)

Directions:

Preheat large skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

While onions are cooking, preheat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with remaining tablespoon olive oil. In a shallow dish, combine juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add salmon fillets to lime-honey mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Add seasoned salmon to the hot skillet and cook until just cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Cover for quicker cooking.

To the cooked onions, add bell peppers and corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the black beans and cook until the beans are just heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the juice of the second lime, the cilantro and the spinach. Toss to wilt the spinach and then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve the lime-and-honey glazed salmon on top of the warm black bean and corn salad.

Smoked Paprika Roasted Salmon with Chive Pesto Fingerling Potatoes

So this meal came about in a roundabout way as I wouldn't normally put these two items together. Long story short, I found myself near a Whole Foods and like a moth to the flame, I was drawn in to Whole Paycheck (as I affectionately call it) for some divine foodie inspiration chock full of fresh herbs and produce I would never find in my neighborhood Giant.

The fish at Whole Foods is always stellar, so I picked up a sockeye salmon fillet. I also saw a small bag of fingerling potatoes and remembered a recipe that my friend Nick had on his blog. Seeing as it would be a long time before I could afford another trip back to Whole Foods, I decided to make this dish as well. The one really awesome (and somewhat cost effective) item at Whole Foods is the raw nut bar where you can buy by the ounce. This comes particularly in handy when buying an expensive item that I would need very little of for this recipe...pine nuts. So I took my overpriced but highly tasty groceries home and made this great meal for myself.

Smoked Paprika Roasted Salmon  (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB thyme
• 1 pound of salmon fillets
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 1TB smoked paprika
• 1tsp saigon cinnamon
• 1 tsp grated orange peel
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

Mix orange juice, 2 TB oil and 1 tsp of thyme in small bowl. Place salmon in large glass dish. Add marinade, turn to coat well. Cover, refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.

Mix sugar, smoked paprika, cinnamon, orange peel, remaining 1 tsp of thyme and sea salt in small bowl. remove salmon from marinade. Place salmon in greased foil lined baking pan. Discard any remaining marinade. Rub top of salmon evenly with smoked paprika mixture.

Roast salmon in preheated 400 degree oven 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.


Chive Pesto Fingerling Potatoes (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes
3 TB olive oil
salt
pepper
1/2 Cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 Cup fresh flat leaf parsley
2 TB pine nuts
1 large garlic clove
1/2 Cup olive oil
1 TB lemon juice

Instructions:

To prep potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and toss with 1 TB olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay potatoes on baking sheet at 425 degrees for 35 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes to allow for even cooking.

To make pesto, combine chives, parsley, pine nuts, garlic clove, and 2 TB olive oil in a food processor to blend until its a coarse paste. Once processed, add lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste.

Once potatoes are done, toss with the pesto and serve.