Confession: Our family hardly ever eats fish. I cook it once every few years or so and that’s about it. There are a few reasons for this. First, Nate does not like fish, which is shocking since he comes from a long line of seafood-loving New Englanders. The second reason is I just don’t know the best ways to prepare seafood since I never do it. Practice makes perfect and there just isn’t any practice going on in my kitchen!

The Salmon Council reached out to me recently about doing a salmon recipe in support of American Heart Month (which is right now!) and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some fish going on in our house. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating fish because it’s a good source of protein and high in omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is at the top of their fish list and the AHA recommends eating two servings of heart-healthy fish TWICE A WEEK, which can reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack by up to one-third. I guess my twice a decade isn’t quite up to snuff!

I decided it would be fun to throw together a simple and delicious salmon recipe, in the hopes that my kids would go for it. As I was making dinner last night, Cate walked in and asked what we were having. I told her salmon, to which she replied, “I don’t like fish.” I asked her, “Well, what fish have you had?” She didn’t have an answer, so she said she would give it a try and as soon as the salmon came out of the oven, she asked for a bite. She was immediately converted. In fact she had three servings for dinner and exclaimed that it was “AWESOME.” She also said that the “salmon people” would be happy with my blog post because I could tell everyone kids love it. It was super, duper, crazy cute. She also asked if we can have salmon more often. Success! Anna wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, but she did like dinner and cleared her plate no problem! Nate is still on the fence – he said the recipe is good, but…you know, fish. But he promised he would never voice those opinions out loud in front of the kids since they like are really liking fish and it’s so healthy!

This recipe is so incredibly simple it’s surprising. Even if you’ve never cooked fish before you’ll have success! The leftovers were pretty good, but honestly, when the salmon is fresh out of the oven it is IRRESISTIBLE. So flavorful and moist with great texture, Cate and I were swooning!

Also, Cate told me I should take a picture of she and Anna enjoying their salmon. I obliged. How could I not?

In celebration of American Heart Month, the Salmon Council is giving away a fun salmon starter package! One randomly-selected winner will receive a $30 Visa gift card (to get your salmon!), a Hooked on Salmon Thermo-tote, and  1 pack of Weber Firespice cedar planks (visit Weber.com for recipes and tips including this step-by-step guide for perfect salmon planking). Here’s how to enter the giveaway! (Comments must be posted by Midnight PT on Tuesday 2/25. Winner must have a U.S. address.)

• Leave a comment on this post – any comment! Easy peasy!
• Bonus entry: Leave an additional comment with your favorite salmon recipe (either share the recipe or a link!)
• Bonus entry: Follow The Salmon Council on Facebook! (leave a separate comment indicating you’ve done so)
• Bonus entry: Follow This Week for Dinner on Facebook! (leave a separate comment indicating you’ve done so)

The giveaway winner was comment #77, Natahsa P. Congratulations, Natasha!

Without further ado, the super easy, even more scrumptious recipe for Maple Soy Glazed Salmon!

(>> Find out more…)

Doesn’t this look delicious? It is.

A few of us in the Martha Stewart Circle of Bloggers received a salmon from Norwegian Salmon for some cooking fun. Not just some salmon. A salmon. As in the ENTIRE salmon. Here she is.

This photo was taken by Nikki’s talented step-father Galen Lowe. Thanks, Galen!

I knew it was coming, but it was still something to behold when I opened the package! Our family hardly ever eats or cooks fish, so you can definitely call me a fish novice. I do enjoy salmon and decided it would be fun to participate.

I think I’ve only ever made salmon twice in my life, so I didn’t have a bunch of recipes in my box to turn to. Norwegian Salmon has a great website with all kind of quick and easy recipes, as well as some very helpful how-to videos. I decided I may as well take advantage of their expertise and use one of their recipes. I settled on the Asian-Style Orange Sauced Salmon with Sesame Broccoli, which was categorized under the Easy category.

My friend Nikki and I made the dish together. Nikki loves salmon, so I had to share the catch with her. You certainly do not need two people to make this recipe, although it was fun hanging out! The recipe was super easy to prepare, and the salmon was delicious.

Asian-Style Orange Sauced Norwegian Salmon with Sesame Broccoli

 

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Easy and delicious!

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish

Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

• (4) 5-6 oz Norwegian Salmon fillets, skin removed
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup rice cooking wine (I couldn’t find this at the store, so we used white wine)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 each orange slices (and more for garnish if you like)
• 3 cups broccoli, florets
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 tsp orange zest
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F
2. Make sauce: in a sauce pot, combine orange juice, rice cooking wine, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger and sugar. Reduce until thickened (about ⅔ original volume)
3. Arrange salmon fillets in oiled casserole dish. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Top each fillet with 1 slice of orange. Pour sauce into casserole dish
4. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until salmon is pink in center.

Notes

While salmon is baking, cook broccoli: Blanch florets in large pot of salted boiling water until tender. Strain water and drain florets well. Toss with sesame oil, sesame seeds and dash of soy sauce

Arrange salmon on plate surrounded with broccoli florets. Garnish with chopped cilantro and orange zest. (Whoops! We forgot the cilantro”¦but I’m certain it would be a nice touch!)

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