I begin in the vegetable section and work my way through the store. I first picked up some eggplant but not your typical purple eggplant. This was a sicilian type which is smaller and has a purple skin streaked with white. I then grab a yellow bell pepper, and some asparagus. I am at this point putting a dish together in my head. I am leaning toward roasted vegetables. I have some small tomatoes at home that I can add to this dish.
I then head over to the seafood counter where I purchase 2 beautiful Copper River Sockeye Salmon fillets. I have no idea what I am going to do with it at this point but I now have dinner in hand.
So here is what I did with my purchases:
Cut up the eggplant into bite size pieces, slice the yellow bell pepper into small strips, snap off the bottom portion of the asparagus (to do this just grasp the stalk with both hands and bend, the asparagus will naturally break off the section that is tough leaving the tender section). Cut in half cherry tomatoes (I used one small package). Add all of the vegetables to a ziploc bag. Add 4 cloves of garlic that have been peeled, some fresh rosemary sprigs and some extra virgin olive oil. Shake the bag to move around the vegetables to incorporate the olive oil. Pour contents of bag onto a cookie sheet and lightly sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and a small amount of salt. Bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 45 minutes. You want the vegetables to be soft and flavorful. About every 15 to 20 minutes flip the vegetables over to move them around to help incorporate the flavors.
For the salmon:
This recipe is one from the Food Network. The recipe actually calls for it to be grilled but it is cold outside not to mention dark so grilling is out of the question. I made this in the oven instead. Also, we plan on eating this for lunch tomorrow.
2 large salmon fillets
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
about 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
8 lemon slices
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup white wine (I used a chardonnay)
4 teaspoon capers
2 large pieces of foil
Drizzle the top and bottom of the salmon with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and the chopped rosemary. Place the each fish filet on a piece of foil. Lay the foil on a baking sheet (it will make it easier to get in and out of the oven and you won't have to worry about any leaks). Make sure the foil is large enough so that you can fold it to keep the fish and juices inside. Pour equal amounts of the lemon juice and wine over each. Add 4 lemon slices to each and 2 teaspoons of capers. Wrap the salmon tight. Place in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 18 minutes. You don't want to over cook the fish so take it out at 15 minutes to see if it is done. Serve with lemon slices and some of the juice.
