Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes, Potatoes, and Olives

Salmon is delicious. I could eat it almost every day. I could also eat bacon almost every day. But salmon is much healthier and definitely more socially acceptable. So, salmon. Salmon I could eat almost every day!

Mr. S seems to be quite happy with salmon as well. He's in the midst of training for a half marathon, so he's further inclined to eat healthy. No more bacon for us! At least until I sneak it into something. I'm guessing this will last about 24 hrs. Then it's back to bacon. Perhaps I'll wrap salmon in it. Woooooah - Mind. Blown. 

In any case - normal, healthy salmon. This is our new favorite way of cooking it. (Until I perfect that bacon method)

Chop up potatoes and an onion into largish hunks. Toss in a box of grape tomatoes.

Carve off large hunks of orange (or lemon) zest. Make sure you get rid of as much of that white pith as possible. It should be easy to see the orange's little pores. Yes, pores, like the ones you've been worrying about on your nose. Oranges appear to have them too, but under the skin.

Slice the zest chunks into thin ribbons. Add to the bowl. Toss in a tablespoon or so of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Gently, coat everything and pour out in a single layer on a lined sheet pan. 

Roast for 45 minutes at 400 degrees.

While that's cooking, cut your kalamatas in half and toss with olive oil and chopped fresh rosemary. Add some sliced garlic too. Even if it's not in the photo.

When the tomato mixture is roasted, pull it out of the oven and scootch everything out of the middle. Place your salmon fillets there (I just bought one big one), and cover the fish with some of the olive mixture. You can toss on a few tomatoes as well. Just make sure the top of the salmon has been well oiled. Mix the rest of the olives in with the other stuff on the pan.

Bump the oven up to 450 and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the salmon is done.

When salmon is done it has white fat ooze visible. Like this:

No ooze - no go.

Once it's done, plate and serve! Delicious!

Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes, Potatoes, and Olives

Serves 2 (or 4 or 6. Just get more fillets and up the veg)

Adapted from Eating Well

2 salmon fillets (as much salmon as 2 people need)

1 carton grape tomatoes

2 medium red potatoes, cubed

1 small onion, cut in large hunks

Zest of 1/2 an orange or lemon, carved off with a knife an sliced into thin strips

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tbsp olive oil, separated

1/3 c. kalamata olives, halved

1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, potatoes, onion, zest and 2 tbsp olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat. Pour out the mixture on a lined sheet pan. Roast for 45 minutes, until nice and brown. 

In the meantime, mix the olives, rosemary, garlic and 1 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl. Pat dry the salmon fillets.

When veg is done, remove the pan from the oven. Then, using a spatula or spoon scootch the veg over so that you have 2 spots open in the pan for the fillets. Lay the fillets on the pan, skin side down if your salmon has skin. Cover the salmon with the oil and olive mixture, making sure that the fillets are coated with the oil/rosemary mix. Toss some of the tomato mixture on the top of the salmon too, mixing the olives into the rest of the veg.

Roast for 10-12 more minutes, until the salmon is oozing white. Plate and dine!