Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The calendar may say spring, but we still get plenty of cool days and nights here in New England during May. As well, some of the farmers’ markets still sell root vegetables that have been lovingly stored for our consumption. This combination of weather and local produce inspired today’s dish.
I had a hard time getting this supper featuring a piece of salmon with its whitish parsnip purée and yellowy olive oil to look as pretty as I would have liked. Thus, while food porn it’s not—and you know I have plenty of much better photos on my blog and Pinterest—I set aside my ego to share with you this solid seafood recipe that puts yesterday’s lemon-scented roasted asparagus to immediate good use.
Salmon with Lemon Asparagus and Parsnips
Cooking Instructions and Notes
1. Roast asparagus and parsips. (More info here on the asparagus; for the parsnips, simply chop and prepare the same way sans lemon zest.)
2. Prepare and roast fish. Whisk extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) with a squeeze of lemon juice, white wine (optional), and chopped parsley; season with salt and pepper. Pour over the salmon and slow-roast. For a simpler preparation, just drizzle EVOO over the salmon and add S & P. (That’s my default, pictured below post-roasting.) (Note: if you want to cook the veggies and fish together at the higher heat you can give it a shot but this often leads to overcooking the fish in my experience, so watch it very closely.)
3. Smash or purée the parsnips with additional EVOO and a bit of cream. Option: Just leave them as is! This is perfectly delightful and fewer calories, I was simply seeing if the parsnips worked as well as cauliflower, my favorite smashy vegetable. (Here’s a recipe for swordfish piccata with smashed cauliflower, for example, a divine dish indeed.) The answer is not exactly, since parsnips are harder. But still tasty.
4. Plate the dish: place salmon atop a spoonful of parsnips and adorn artfully with asparagus spears. Pour the juices from the fish over the top, if desired. A sprinkle of fresh (not cooked) parsley will brighten the flavors and colors; I forgot.
Simple and satisfying, it’s a supper that says “spring” in that cool, New England kind of way.
Ok question. How do I slow roast the fish and fast roast the veggies and have them ready at the same time?
The good thing about roasted veggies is that they taste great at room temperature (more so asparagus than parsnips). That said, cook the veg first (at the higher temp) then remove, reduce the heat, and cook the salmon. Make a salad, hang out, or whatever while that’s cooking. If you want to reheat the veg, then just put the asparagus back in the oven to warm while the fish is sitting for 5 minutes. And the parsnips, if you smash them, can be reheated in a pan on the stove during the same final 5 minutes. Fish, like meat, rests a bit so the liquid can reabsorb and it stays moist—so there’s your window for reheating the veg and smashing the parsnips so everything’s ready to go at the same time. Good question!