his is a tasty salmon tray bake recipe that’s as simple as it is healthy. Salmon is slathered with an assertive lemon garlic paste that adds a stack of flavour, then cooks in just 11 minutes alongside parmesan asparagus and blistered cherry tomatoes. Sheet pan oven dinner. No stove splatter – yay!
Servings4
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▢4 x 180g/6 oz salmon fillets , skin on or off, doesn’t matter (Note 1)
Marinade slather:
▢1 tsp lemon zest (1 lemon)
▢1 tbsp lemon juice
▢2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
▢1 tsp dijon mustard (Note 2)
▢2 garlic cloves , grated using microplane (Note 3)
▢1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
▢1/4 tsp black pepper
Vegetables (optional):
▢3 bunches asparagus , woody ends snapped or trimmed off (Note 4)
▢200g/ 7 oz cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes, 1 Aussie punnet)
▢2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
▢1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Cooking & serving:
▢Olive oil spray
▢Parmesan , finely grated
▢Lemon wedges or slices , optional
▢Parsley , finely chopped, optional
▢Crusty bread or toast , for serving
Lemon garlic paste – Mix the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Slather onto the top and sides of the salmon. If time permits, marinade for 1 hour. Otherwise, proceed with recipe.
Preheat oven grill / broiler to 280°C/525°F or as high as yours goes. Place the oven shelf 20 cm /8″ from the heat source.
Prepare tray – Toss the asparagus and cherry tomatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a large tray then clear space for the salmon. Place salmon on the tray leaving a bit of space between each. Spray surface of salmon with oil.
Cook – Grill/broil for 11 minutes or until the salmon is done – the flesh should flake, the internal temperature should be 50°C/122°F (Note 5).
Serve – Transfer salmon and vegetables to plate. Grate parmesan over the vegetables. Squeeze lemon juice over the salmon, sprinkle with parsley. Eat!
Recipe Notes:
- Salmon – the skin won’t go crisp so if this bothers you, just eat the flesh off the skin. Recipe also works perfect with trout, direct sub.
- Dijon – This thickens the rub into a paste that sticks to the salmon.
- Garlic – Grating finely makes it mix into the paste better than finely chopping so you don’t get little burnt lumps.
- Asparagus – Ends will naturally break at the point where the woody end is. Try it, it totally works! (But not with limp old ones)
- Internal cooked temperature for salmon:
Medium rare – pull out at 50°C/122°F which will rise to 53°C/127.4°F after resting which is medium rare. This is the optimum point of juiciness and level of doneness chefs/restaurants will cook to by default.
Medium – pull at 60°C/140°F, will rise to 63°C/145.4°F after resting. A little more done and slightly less juicy. - Freezing tip – Slather salmon then freeze in a container with space around each piece, or freeze unwrapped until the surface is hard, then wrap. Then reverse for thaw – unwrap and thaw uncovered. That way you won’t lose any precious paste off the salmon skin. No need to marinate before freezing – that will happen as the salmon thaws.
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Nutrition per serving for the salmon and vegetables.
Nutrition Information:
Calories:364cal (18%)Carbohydrates:3g (1%)Protein:37g (74%)Fat:22g (34%)Saturated Fat:3g (19%)Polyunsaturated Fat:6gMonounsaturated Fat:11gCholesterol:99mg (33%)Sodium:536mg (23%)Potassium:1028mg (29%)Fiber:1g (4%)Sugar:2g (2%)Vitamin A:407IU (8%)Vitamin C:14mg (17%)Calcium:35mg (4%)Iron:2mg (11%)
