Spicy Baked Salmon over Asparagus

 

Makes 2 servings of plate shown above:

Ingredients

16 oz Salmon filet (found at most grocery stores without scales)

8 oz Asparagus (1/2 of 1 lb packet) or about 15-20 asparagus spears

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt (ground salt is better)

2 tsp lime juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or any oil)

2 tsp garlic

1 tbsp basil (dried or fresh)

4 tbsp non-fat plain yogurt

1-2 tsp sriracha or any hot sauce (if you'd like to give it a kick!)

Cooking Instructions

It's important to start this recipe ahead of time, because marinating the salmon is key to making this bland meat taste good! 

1) Make marinade for the salmon. In a bowl mix together pepper, any spices, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and yogurt. You can use a fork or a spoon to mix it all up, but make sure its a really even consistency before you apply it to the salmon.

2) Have salmon cut into two large pieces on a plate or in a separate bowl. 

3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4) Make 2-3 small diagonal incisions (don't cut all the way through!) in the salmon filets so that the marinade can soak in quickly. 

5) Throw a few pinches of salt (grinding salt is best to avoid getting too much) evenly on the filets

6) Apply generous spoonfuls of marinade onto the salmon or you can put the salmon directly into the bowl. 

7) Make sure to really get the marinade on both sides of the salmon, this is key. 

8) Asparagus instructions: rinse the asparagus in water and break off tips of the asparagus. There is an art to this but its easy to learn. Hold the fibrous (thick) end of a spear and push until it snaps off. If it is difficult, you are doing it wrong. Use this site for reference if you have never used asparagus before: http://www.oceanmist.com/products/asparagus/asparagusprep.aspx

9) In a large pan spread small amount of oil or use nonstick cooking spray and spread asparagus spears as a bed for the fish filets to lay on. Tip: if you care about presentation, try alternating the spears in direction. 

10) Place filets carefully onto the bed of asparagus

11) Spoon the remaining marinade you have onto the baking pan covering the fish and asparagus (depending on how flavorful you would like it to be)

12) Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. 

13) Garnish with basil leaves or ground basil 

Voila! Healthy in every possible way and pretty simple if you plan ahead.