|
|
Broiled Salmon
Twice Baked Potatoes
and
Asparagus
|
 |
Many of us have been told that we should eat
more fish, but don't really know what to do with it as far as cooking a really
good meal that our families will enjoy.
This is a pretty simple way to
cook a healthy meal that will bring rave reviews from all around the
table.
Twice baked potatoes are a wounderful way to add a little
something different to your table, and they're not difficult to
make.
Salmon is a great piece of fish that has a wonderful meaty
texture.
Lets get started.
What
you'll need:
Potatoes
Asparagus
Salmon Filets
Sour
Cream
Cheddar Cheese
Butter
Seasonings
The first thing to
do is to scrub your spuds, wrap them in foil, and bake them in the oven at 350
for an hour (if your potatoes are large, cook them longer than an hour). These
can be prepared ahead of time, or you can use leftover baked
potatoes. |
 |
After cooked, let them cool if they are
hot, remove them from the oven, take off the foil, and cut them in half.
|
 |
Take a spoon, and scoop out the majority
of the potato, placing it into a medium sized mixing bowl. |
 |
You will end up with these little potato
shells, just set them off to the side for now. |
 |
In the mixing bowl, add in about 4
tablespoons of sour cream, two tablespoons of butter, and a cup of freshly
grated cheddar cheese. Then mix it up well.
We just use a hand potato
masher rather than a mixer because we like the little potato lumps that are
left in the mix for some added texture. And why have more to clean
up! |
 |
After its all mixed up well, scoop it back
into the potato shells, and put some more cheese on top. Set put them in the
oven to warm up until its time to cook the salmon. |
 |
To prepare the asparagus, it will be
easier if you leave the rubber bands on the asparagus bundles while you cut
them to the length you want them. |
 |
These asparagus are kind of thick, which
is a good thing, but sometimes you can only get the thinner ones at the grocery
store. If thats the case in your situation, I suggest not removing as much of
the stem... only the lower portion where the stem is white. |
 |
Put the asparagus in a pan with some
olive oil or butter and garlic, and let them simmer until they are cooked to
your liking.
Its difficult to say exactly how long to cook them, as
their thickness will be the determining factor. You might prefer them to be
totally soft when you eat them, and others might prefer them to be a little
firmer. Either way is correct, its all about your individual
preference. |
 |
Pull the potatoes from the oven and switch it
to broil now, so that the top heating element gets hot while you prepare the
salmon.
We've been fortunate enough to have found some fresh, wild
salmon at the market today, as opposed to farm raised, so we're really looking
forward to this.
The first thing to do is to remove the skin from the
filet. You'll need a pretty sharp knife to remove the skin so that you don't
destroy the tender flesh of the salmon as you do it.
Just lay the filet
skin down, and get enough of the skin separated from the meat so that you can
flip it over, and get a hold of it. |
 |
Then just slowlylift up the skin as you
use the knife to finish peeling it off. Don't be concerned if there is still a
little bit of grey left on the meat when you'ved finished removing the skin.
Its no big deal, and won't affect your finished product in any
way. |
 |
We've covered a cookie sheet with foil
to help keep cleanup to a minimum, and then placed a small cooking rack on the
foil, not only to keep the salmon from sticking to it, but by keeping the
salmon raised up, it will cook faster. |
 |
Then, season the salmon with whatever you
prefer. We use a small amount of Lawrey's Season salt, a light sprinkling of
garlic powder, and some coarse ground black pepper.
You could use some
lemon pepper, or some other type of seasoning, and could even squeeze some
fresh lemon juice on them. Just remember to keep your seasoning to a minimum
because you don't want to overpower the flavor of the salmon. |
 |
Here they are, all ready to put in the
broiler. given the thickness of these filets, they won't take too long to cook.
Just about 7 minutes on one side, and then pull them, flip them, and give them
another 5-7 minutes.
If your filets are thicker, they might take
another minute or two. Salmon, like other fish, cooks pretty fast. |
 |
When the salmon is done, put the twice
baked potatoes back in the oven, still on broil, and finish them off so that
the cheese melts while you serve up the rest of the meal. We really like it
when the cheese starts to turn a little brown on top.
You can make some
of your own cocktail sauce by simply mixing some ketchup and some horseradish
sauce.
There it is... and it was a great dinner, and there were even
some potatoes left over... I think I'll go heat them up in the oven, and have
some scrambled eggs, and fresh salsa with them for breakfast this
morning. |
 |
|
|
Search the web for more
nutrition information
and healthy recipes:
|
| |
|
|
