With this one pan dish, we have a light seasoning of lemon and dill. The asparagus gets a quick high roast to seal in the flavor, then the salmon is added to cook at a lower tempreature, keeping it moist and blend in the seasoning.
While I was going to use fresh basil, as with all the dishes I cooked this week, I had to back up and punt (a football reference). Dill was my second choice, but I’m glad I had to try my second choice. Dill provides an excellent compliment to both asparagus and salmon!
Therfore as you read, the next section
1. I am not a trained chef or nutritionist.
2. I am not a medical professional.
3. I am not a professional photographer.
Ingredients
4 Salmon Fillets, about 5 oz each
2 lbs Asparagus spears
6 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablspoons olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
Preparation
- Rinse the fillets and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.
- Wash the asparagus spears and cut off the tough ends.
- Wash the dill and chop.
Cooking
- Place the asparagus, lemon juice, olive oil and dill in a baggie and shake to coat.
- Line a baking dish with foil and layer the asparagus in the baking dish. NOTE: Do not “pour” the asparagus from the baggie into the baking dish. You want to use the remaining lemon and dill mixture for the salmon.
- Roast the asparagus in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
- When the asparagus has finished it’s high roast, take it out of the oven and let the oven cool to 250 degrees.
- Place the salmon in the lemon mixture and coat with the remaining marinade.
- Push the asparagus to the side of the pan and place the salmon on the opposite end.
- Slow roast the salmon and asparagus in the 250 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the salmon reaches a temperature of approx 125 degrees.
- Remove the pan and let the salmon rest for about 10 minutes before serving or storing for later.
Just a few notes ….
If you are used to cooking with farm raised salmon and switch over to wild caught, your recipe needs to be adjusted. Farm raised salmon are basically raised in a small tank and have very little room to move around. They are fed a lot so they grow quickly. The wild caught salmon can swim thousands of miles over it’s lifetime because it is a migratory carnovore. Due to the different life styles, farm raised salmon have a higher fat content and less developed musculature than their wild caught counter parts.
You can overcook a fattier farm raised salmon and it will still remain a bit juicy. However, if you overcook wild caught salmon, it can become tough and rubbery. Also, at the same tempreatures, wild caught salmon will reach it’s desired internal tempreature faster than farm raised. Therefore, if you cooked a salmon recipe with farm raised and it turned out good at 250 degrees for 20 minutes, you may want to check then internal tempreature of wild caught at the 15 minute mark to be safe.
Have you tried wild vs farm raised salmon? Which do you prefer?