Salmon & Asparagus

 Toward the end of last week, I browsed Laura Arnold's Best Simple Suppers for Two: Fast and Fool-proof Recipes for One, Two, or a Few. I hardly remembered this book, though my GoodReads review points to our 2017 Turkey Burger Flavor Symphony post. This time, I immediately found three new recipes I would like to try, and bought ingredients for two of them (check back in a couple of days for the rest of this story).

For honey-mustard glazed salmon, I preheated the oven to 450F and then mixed a couple spoonfuls each of whole-grain mustard, brown sugar, and honey in a small bowl. I lined a baking sheet with foil, and then placed a salmon fillet (about 1 pound) on the foil, skin side down. I covered it with the glaze and placed it in the oven, setting the timer for 15 minutes.

I then prepared the vegetables: discarding the woody ends of asparagus, slicing grape tomatoes in half, and zesting one lemon. I heated oil in a large, indispensable cast-iron skillet and once it was hot added both the asparagus and tomatoes. Stirring occasionally over medium-high heat until semi-crisp (five minutes), I then added the lemon zest and juice, cooking for another minute and then turning off the heat.

I removed the salmon, cooked through and with the glaze slightly caramelized. I had actually made too much glaze, so I was grateful that I could discard the foil rather than trying to clean the pan! As is usually the case when baking salmon, the fillet slid easily off the skin. As I always do, I sliced the fillet so that each of us had the same combination of thin and thick cut.

I plated this with the vegetables and paused for this quick photo as Pam pronounced it delicious!