Gourmet for Me!: Herbed Roasted Salmon with Garlic Artichokes

Yum!

Last year I discovered that I REALLY like artichokes. After trying a few different ways of cooking them, I blended them together and came up with this recipe. It took me a while to figure out how to prepare the artichokes appropriately, so I have posted pictures of how to conquer a very difficult to prepare vegetable.

This Salmon recipe was inspired by a recipe for Salmon in Ina Garten's newest cookbook, "How Easy Is That." The Salmon is moist when done and I absolutely LOVE dill. I recommend pouring some of the juices that remain in the pan over the Salmon when finished.

When cooking for one, the usual sized pans (9x13, or 8x10) are too big and take up more time to clean. I have a Small Pyrex Glass Pan that I used for EVERYTHING (including this Salmon). I also have a small  3.5qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven that my mom gifted me because it hadn't been used in years. It is the perfect size for these artichokes.

Herbed Roasted Salmon

4-5oz Salmon Filet

3 Tbsp Lemon Juice

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Dill

2 Tbsp Chives

3 Tbsp Scallions

2 Tbsp Water

- Place the Salmon in a small glass pan and salt and pepper liberally.

- Mix Lemon Juice and Olive Oil in a small bowl and pour over the Salmon.

- Chop up the herbs and add to the bowl you used to mix the oil and lemon juice. Add a bit more lemon juice and a drizzle of oil and use your fingers to mix.

- Press the herb mix onto the top of the Salmon and then place 2 circles of Lemon on top.

- Pour a bit of water around the Salmon (I added 2 Tbsp because I used a Small Pan)

- Roast in a 425˚F oven for 15 mins.

Right before going into the oven

Artichokes with Garlic and Olives

2 Artichokes (see below for preparation)

1 Lemon

2 Cloves of Garlic (minced)

1/3 Cup of Olive Oil

1/4 cup Olives

Water

- Prepare the Artichokes as below.

- Rub them with a half of the cut lemon, squeezing some juice into the inner cavity. Then rub with garlic.

- Place cut end down in a pan or dutch oven and add 1/3 cup of olive oil around the artichokes.

- Add olives and enough water to cover 2/3 of the artichokes. (The water will boil off so check periodically to make sure there is enough water)

- Place the covered pan/dutch oven over medium heat and cook for 25 ~ 30 mins.

After cooking for 30 mins

ENJOY!

To Prepare the Artichokes:

1. Remove all of the leaves until the bottom third of the leaves are white.

2. Cut off the top of the artichoke down to the beginning of the white portion of the leaves

3. Using a spoon, melon baller, or measuring spoon with a strong handle remove the inner leaves including the hairy parts.  (I use a teaspoon)

4. Using a paring knife, peel the hard outer skin off of the stem of the artichoke and peel some of the rough leaves on the top of the artichokes. 

There will be a lot of waste!