On my way home from picking the kids up at day care yesterday, I realized that I’d forgotten to buy green beans, which I’d planned to make for dinner that night. What I did have, though, was a head of broccoli, so I went online to search for a roasted broccoli recipe and found this one with soy sauce and sesame seeds, a perfect complement to the salmon I’d started marinating earlier that afternoon. I’d never roasted broccoli before, but when the first search result that came up was “the best broccoli of your life”, I had to try it. My 15-month-old baby certainly seemed to think so — he couldn’t get enough of it, as well as the salmon.
The best thing about this dinner is that broccoli and salmon are two of the top 10 super foods, so it packs a real punch for one plate. It also doesn’t hurt that aside from marinating the salmon (which takes 5 minutes to pull together earlier in the day), the whole dinner takes less than half an hour to make from start to finish, helped by the fact that the salmon and broccoli cook at the same temperature and for the same amount of time.
You could serve this dinner either by combining the roasted broccoli and soba noodles and then serving the salmon fillet on top, or by keeping the three dishes separate.
Roasted Orange and Soy Salmon
from Bon Appétit, April 2003
Serves 4
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
4 x 6 oz (170 g) salmon fillets, with skin
Mix the wine, orange juice and soy sauce in a glass baking dish large enough to hold all the salmon. Place the salmon, skin side up, in the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning occasionally.
Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with foil. Shake any excess marinade off the salmon. Transfer the salmon to the baking sheet, skin side down. Roast until the fish is opaque in the center, about 14 minutes. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and transfer to plates.
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Roasted Broccoli with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds
adapted from VeggieGardener.com
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 lb (450 g) fresh broccoli (1 large or 2 small heads), broken into florets
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil (or shake to combine in a screw-top jar).
Place the broccoli florets in a bowl and toss well with the soy dressing. Arrange the florets in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir and continue roasting for 5 minutes more, or until the broccoli is tender-crisp and slightly browned on the edges.
While the broccoli roasts, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over a very high heat for 30 to 60 seconds, taking care that they don’t burn. When the broccoli is done, put it back into the bowl, add in the sesame seeds, and toss again. Serve hot.
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Soba Noodles
from Bobby Flay
Serves 4
1 lb (450 g) soba noodles, cooked al dente
1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup (5 g) chopped fresh cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 scallions, finely chopped
Place the noodles in a large bowl. Whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, olive oil and sesame oil. Pour over the noodles, add the cilantro and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with scallion.
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