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“There are some achievements which are never done in the presence of those who hear of them. Catching salmon is one, and working all night is another.”
Anthony Trollope
I know I say this in almost every post, but I think that there are few things that I enjoy more than Salmon. Grilled, baked, smoked….. tartare. Some of my very favorite memories revolve around Baxters on Amelia Island, a fine wine and buttery Lox with cream cheese, capers and caviar. Alas, long gone are the days of financial freedom and the beluga well has long run dry. However, thanks to the amazing versatility of this oily, migratory morsel, I needn’t completely be without my fix.
Salmon is a big deal in the Methow Valley. The two main types of Salmon apparently present (I guess – I’m no fish biologist) are Coho (as seen above) and Steelhead. Together, the Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation, the Yakima Indian Nation, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (to name a few) work to monitor salmon reproduction and migration patterns.
Additionally, salmon are anadromous: they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to reproduce. They do not simply return to the same river, but to the same off-shoot stream in which they were born. And all of this led only by their olfactory memory!
None of this is related to the recipe. I simply want you to know that you are eating a very smart fish.
Which could be the reason for all the health benefits that come with consuming with one of the most pungent of the Salmoniformes. Salmon consumption is thought to be served with the following benefits:
- Decreased Inflammation
- Cancer Prevention
- Eye Health
- Cardiovascular Health
- Skin & Hair Health
- Cognitive Function (my favorite benefit – Some studies have also demonstrated an association between IQ and a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids.)
All of this being said:
The Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons minced red onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 1 1 1/2-pound skinless salmon fillet (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
The Process
This is the simplest recipe ever. Seriously. You cannot mess this recipe up.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
First, you whisk the first 6 ingredients together to make a sauce. Then line a baking dish with the asparagus. Lay the salmon on top of the bed of asparagus and then top with the sauce.
Bake for about 20 minutes ( I did mine a little bit more because our oven is not so good).
Remove from oven, allow to cool and enjoy.