We were out for the day and dinner time was approaching. How easy it would be to just stop for something, we thought. Something in the back of my mind just kept saying NO, don’t do it, you know that food is junk. I remembered that we had frozen salmon at home, which is really easy to unfreeze and throw in the oven. We also had asparagus and sweet potatoes to make with the fish so I knew I had a complete meal that could be made at home. When I finally got to sit down and eat, I was so happy I chose the unprocessed route.
For the salmon, I prepared an olive oil based Ceasar dressing to coat the salmon with before putting the breadcrumbs on top. The dressing is really simple, and contains just a few real ingredients… olive oil, lemon juice, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. If you just read the words anchovy paste and thought “Forget about this recipe!” let me ease your mind. All Ceasar dressings get their distinct flavor from either anchovies or anchovy paste. I have been making real Ceasar dressings for quite a few years in restaurants and I got over the whole anchovy thing a long time ago. If you are worried about the ingredient, step outside the box just a little and give it a try. I promise once you taste the salmon you’ll be thanking me! The real base of flavor from Ceasar dressing comes from the anchovy paste, so it isn’t an ingredient you can omit.
I don’t use store-bought breadcrumbs because they are actually one of the WORST products found in grocery stores. Who knew those seemingly simple breadcrumbs actually contain about 50 ingredients including trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), and high fructose corn syrup? To make your own you simply place two pieces of bread in the oven while it is preheating and let them get a bit toasty (or you could use a toaster and toast them lightly). You don’t want your bread to get overly toasted, just a bit dry. Take them out of the oven, put them in a blender or food processor for a minute and that’s it! Once they are processed you season them and add a bit of olive oil to get a nice and crispy topping for your salmon. I promise once you do this, you will never be tempted to buy the store bought garbage again! Just an FYI, I use a whole grain, 100% natural bread from Food for Life. It is a sprouted grain bread that will knock your socks off because it doesn’t contain soybean oil, sugars, additives, or preservatives. Every single ingredient is identifiable and necessary. Please check them out in the frozen section of the organic isles in your grocery store!
With the salmon I served this lemon and goat cheese asparagus. It is another really simple side to put together quickly that is nutritious and delicious. It is really as simple as steaming/boiling the asparagus, seasoning it, and adding the cheese. I love my asparagus with big chunks of freshly cracked black pepper as well!
Lemon and Goat Cheese Asparagus
Ingredients:
- About 25 asparagus spears
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp white wine
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- sprinkle of salt
- sprinkle of pepper
- sprinkle of garlic powder
- 1-2 ounces goat cheese
Directions: Steam/boil asparagus. Put asparagus, lemon juice, olive oil, and white wine in a small sauté pan and allow wine to cook off (give it some heat). Add seasonings, remove from heat and crumble goat cheese on top to serve.
2Ceasar Encrusted Salmon
By Published: July 13, 2014
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Ready In: 25 mins
This recipe will cover about 4 nice sized pieces of salmon.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tsp anchovy paste
- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
- generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper
- pink himalayan or kosher salt to taste
- 2 slices 100% wholr grain bread topping
- 1/4 tsp garkic powder topping
- 1/4 tsp onion salt topping
- 1/8 tsp pink himalayan or kosher salt topping
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil topping
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese topping
Instructions
- Mix first 6 ingredients to make your dressing. Once combined and smooth. pour over salmon. Coat each piece evenly.
- Toast bread in oven or toaster lightly. Put in food processor and pulse until bread is in crumbs, but not super fine. Add seasonings and oil to breadcrumbs and spread them evenly on top of ceasar coated salmon.
- Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Remove salmon from oven and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted nicely.
