Oven-Baked Salmon and Brussels Sprouts with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Combined with potassium-rich Brussels sprouts, oven-baked salmon is a nutrition-packed meal that makes an unbelievably quick and wholesome dinner when you are pressed for time and short on ideas. I make it a point to serve salmon at least once a week. Any leftovers are served on a bed of greens the next day, and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar dressing. 

The myriad benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids have been well-documented but there is no better source for these heart-healthy fats than salmon--or as my friend Alysa Ray calls it, pink, stinky fish.

That's a bit of an unfair statement, because while more pungent than its ocean dwelling cousins (due its oiliness or fattiness), salmon should never smell from, say, 3 or 4 inches away. In other words, when you are buying salmon, ask to smell it. YES, ask to smell it and don't worry about offending the fish guy. Just get your schnoz right down in there and take a big ol' whiff. If you can smell it before you get ultra cozy with it, then reject it as less than fresh. It should never feel slimy either. That too, is a "dead" give away.

With regard to the Brussels sprouts, I sometimes roast them in the oven for a few minutes with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. But more often than not, I turn to my favorite recipe which comes from Elise Bauer's blog, Simply Recipes, and use her version as the vegetable in this low-calorie, low-carbohydrate dish.

So the next time it's 3 pm and you're starting to stress over dinner, run out and buy some Brussels sprouts and swing by your favorite reputable fishmonger for some salmon fillets. I promise you this meal, start to finish, will be on the table in LESS than 30 minutes. No baloney.

Brussels Sprouts with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

You can find black bean garlic sauce in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores. I use the Lee Kum Kee brand and love it. If you're up to it some chopped, cooked bacon is equally tasty when added to this dish. Note that the sauce is pretty salty, so no additional salt is needed.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive, grapeseed, or safflower oil

Dash of chili pepper flakes

25 brussels sprouts

1 1/2 tablespoons of black bean garlic sauce

Ground black pepper

Oven-Baked Salmon

Ingredients

4 - 4 oz salmon filets, skin on (if you can't find skin on, no big deal)

Lemon pepper, to taste

Fresh dill sprigs or dried dill.

Method

Preheat your oven to 350º. Prep the Brussels sprouts per the recipe below but do not cook yet. Once the sprouts are trimmed and sliced, line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum wrap for the salmon. Unwrap your salmon and inspect it for any bones by lightly running your fingers lightly over the flesh. Remove any fish bones with a tweezer.

Run the salmon under cold water to rinse it. Better yet, if you have Eat Cleaner™ Seafood and Poultry rinse, spray your salmon and let sit for a few seconds to remove all surface contaminants. You may rinse Eat Cleaner™ or leave it on the fish; it is tasteless and odorless and will not harm the you, the fish, or the fish's consistency.

Place the salmon skin-side down on paper towels and pat dry with a second paper towel or two. 

Sprinkle the salmon fillets with lemon pepper, to taste. As you can see, I use a heavy hand with this stuff.

I always prefer fresh dill but the supermarket did not have any this time, so I reached for my own, home made dried dill. Home made dried dill is so much better than the bland tasteless herbs from the grocery store. Next time you have extra dill, leave it outside to dry in the sun and then crumble it up. Voilà, easy peasy.

Lay a few fresh dill sprigs over the salmon or, if you're using dried like I am here, sprinkle salmon generously (use less if you don't care for the flavor or skip the dill entirely).

Lay the salmon skin-side down on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. You do not need to spray the sheet because the skin will stick to the foil and the fish will lift right off the skin when the salmon is cooked. If your salmon filets have a thin, tapered tail, tuck the tail under the thicker midsection, as in the photo below. This will help the salmon cook evenly and will prevent the thinner part from drying out while the rest of the fish is still cooking. (Note: the method says to preheat the oven to 350º but I am using the convection feature and my oven automatically adjusts for convection by dropping the temperature by 25º.)

The salmon should definitely be done within 15 minutes. To test, press the thickest part with your finger. It should NOT feel firm nor mushy. It should have just a slight "give." Note how the salmon lifts right off the skin, leaving the latter attached to the foil for easy clean up! Serve with the Brussels Sprouts, recipe follows.

I want you to look closely at the flesh below. See how it's NOT pale pink, but still dark, fleshy-looking and translucent? This is PERFECTLY cooked salmon. You do not want it to "flake easily" or be any pinker than this or it will definitely be overcooked.

Also, please note the grayish brown flesh underneath between the pink salmon and the skin. This is the bulk of the Omega-3 fatty acids. Research has shown that as much as two-thirds of the Omega-3s reside beneath the skin in the gray matter (see more information at the end of this recipe).  It's up to you to remove it or eat it. Some people think it tastes fishy, others can't tell the difference. My kids don't like to look at it so I remove it for them but personally, I think it's a sacrilege to remove the Omega-3s. I eat it, and so does The Dude.

Brussels Sprouts

Time saving tip: While the oven pre-heats for the salmon, gather your ingredients for and clean and trim the Brussels sprouts. About 7 minutes before the salmon comes out of the oven, start cooking them. They should finish at the same time as the fish.

Wash the Brussels sprouts well.

Trim the stems by slicing across the bottom.

Discard any of the loose and/or stained, discolored or bruised leaves till you're left with a pretty green sprout.

If sprouts are medium-size, slice in half lengthwise; in quarters if larger. Leave very small sprouts unsliced.

Heat oil in pan and sprinkle in hot pepper flakes. As you can see, we like them VERY SPICY. Again, this is "to taste" so use as much or as little as you like.

Add the Brussels sprouts to the pan and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the sprouts begin to brown a bit. I like to arrange them so the flat surface is in contact with the hot pan. Also, I've made quite a bit more here than the 25 called for in the recipe. This is one time where crowding does NOT hurt the final product. The steam will actually help them cook faster. Just turn your heat to high if you're cooking a lot of sprouts. You want a nice sear on the bottom. Also, the sprouts may absorb all the oil; if they do just add another 1/2 tablespoon of oil (I never find I need to add oil).

Add the black bean garlic sauce.

Stir until all the Brussels sprouts are well-coated.

Add a pinch of ground black pepper (the sauce is already salty so do NOT add any salt). Cook for about 30 more seconds.

Take off heat and serve immediately alongside the salmon.

Note on Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Tests conducted by the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory indicate that the flesh of wild sockeye salmon (for example) contains more than 1.2 grams of EPA and DHA per 3.5 oz (98 g) serving. This exceeds the 650 to 1000 mg recommended daily intake of omega-3s by more than 20%. So whether the gray fat is consumed or not, one is assured of getting a significant 'dosage' of EPA, DHA (and many other essential fatty acids) with each serving of salmon.