Something's Fishy

Growing up, I hated fish. I thought it was too well...fishy. Looking back, my dislike of fish must have been a horror to my Portuguese family. Most holidays included fish, unless your Nana (like mine) would do anything to get you to eat and supply you with Elio's pizza or Kraft macaroni and cheese. It wasn't until a plate of what looked like fried chicken, had me whistling a different tune. My father called it "chicken fish" and I believed him. Yeah, I was a pretty gullible child.

It took me years to learn to appreciate the many preparations of seafood. Now, if I had a choice between a niece piece of grilled fish or a steak? I'd choose the fish.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Whole Foods. My friends and family know that a trip to a grocery store is like a spa day for me. I leisurely stroll through the aisles, compare prices in my head and grab inspiration from fresh ingredients. I'm a real hoot, huh?

When shopping for fish, don't be afraid to talk to your fish monger (I just like saying that word). For instance, I know that my local Shaw's gets their fish delivery on Tuesday. I have them take the fish out of the case and smell it. Fresh fish should smell like salt water, if you smell anything else, you don't know how old it is. Take a look at the color, it should be bright (but be careful of it being too bright, as some companies inject dye). And it shouldn't be slimy, wet, but not slimy. Here is a beautiful piece of Coho salmon.

I decided to simply roast it along with other random veggies I had left in the fridge.

I slice the salmon into 3 almost equal portions, lay them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

I chop my cauliflower and carrots, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley and add that to a foiled lined baking sheet.

I pop those into a 400 degree oven and cook the fish for about 10 minutes. While that's cooking I make a sauce to brush on the salmon. It's fresh lemon juice, Grey Poupon Dijon mustard, fresh rosemary and thyme. Just eyeball the ingredients and taste to alter. Mix well.

I then begin making my other side dish of Israeli couscous. I love this stuff! It's chewy, yet delicate and makes a great accompaniment for lots of light dishes. I decided to make this with pumpkin seeds and a touch of lemon juice. Follow the ratios for broth to couscous on the box/bag.

I toast the pumpkin seeds for a couple of minutes and remove them from the pan. Then I add in minced onion with a little bit of oil and saute for 3 minutes. I add in the couscous and toast for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so not to burn. Then I add in my chicken broth and couple of tbsp of lemon juice, bring down to low and cover. Simmer until all the liquid has absorbed.

Remove fish after 10 minutes and brush on your sauce. Put back in oven for another 10 minutes.

Check the veggies and turn pan if needed so they roast evenly. They will roast for about 25 minutes. Want to get a kid to eat their veggies? Roast them. It brings out the natural sweetness and it's soooo good.

When everything is out of the oven and off the heat, I add the pumpkin the seeds back into the couscous and plate. This was one healthy and delicious meal!