Weeknight Cooking

Dinner Tonight: Salmon + Addictive Asparagus

by:
April 11, 2012
2 Comments

Inspiration for tonight's dinner: life, rebirth, beauty! Are you tired of hearing us yammer on about spring yet? Of course not! Because its fleeting, thrilling vibrancy is just about as addictive as this asparagus.

Here at Dinner Tonight HQ, we're still in full on, wide-eyed, springy bliss. That's what this dinner is all about: spring on a plate. So pop an antihistamine and breathe it all in. 

As always, this meal will come together in no time and will be accompanied by much applause and deserved laudatory words and behaviors.*

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The Menu

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus by kaykay

Salmon Papillotes with Red Peppercorns, Lime and Fresh Ginger by Babette's Feast

The Grocery List (for 4)

1 pound asparagus
1 large leek
4 ounces pancetta
2 tablespoons pine nuts
4 salmon fillets (4-6 ounces each)
Fresh ginger
Fresh dill
Fresh chives
Heavy cream (optional)

We're assuming you have salt, pepper, pink and/or Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, an orange, a lemon, a lime, butter, and extra virgin olive oil. If you don't have these things, well for goodness sakes, add them to the list. If you already have all of this and more in your pantry and fridge, nice work! 

The Plan 

1. Prep everything (zest, chop, make foil / parchment packet) for both dishes.

2. Preheat the oven and pop the salmon into its packet.

3. Slide the salmon into the oven. You now have 10 minutes to throw together the asparagus.

4. Throw the asparagus together!

5. Pull the salmon from the oven and tuck in! Dinner is served.

* I actually can't promise anything about the applause etc., but it does come together pretty fast. And hey, I think you're terrific for cooking it, so that's sort of like applause. Sort of.

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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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Miranda Rake

Written by: Miranda Rake

Miranda is a writer and editor in Portland, OR. She has a sweet, curious toddler, and is passionate about all of the usual things like farmers markets, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and swimming in the sea. She hates leaf blowers and writing in the third person. Until recently, she owned and operated a small jam company, as is typical for a Portland-based millennial like herself.

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2 Comments

mpm6228
mpm6228 April 15, 2012
great combination. I made it for a dinner party last night, plus a very simply yukon gold potato salad--I eliminated the scallions from the fish and put them plus a little dill and mayonnaise with the potato salad. Skimped a little on the cream, just because I felt the dish was rich enough without it, but next time I will go further with that. Great party idea. For six, 2 lbs of fish did it with this menu, and I did 2 lbs of asparagus too.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. April 15, 2012
Love the addition of potato salad. (Have you tried thirschfeld's potato salad with horseradish and dill on FOOD52? It's fantastic.) I hope you don't mind if I copy your menu!