Spring Life & Salmon Recipe

Spring seems to be finding its way slowly into our senses. Though days are still struggling to rise much above freezing for any duration, it’s been delightfully clear and calm for quite a long stretch - thank you jet stream! In the greenhouse our plum and apple trees are blossoming and we turn into human bumblebees, flitting from tree to tree with a little paintbrush to pollinate them. Outside, our experiment with planting bulbs is coming to life with hardy purple crocus the first to push their way up from their winter bed. (You may notice some of our fishing web in the corner of the picture - this is a deer “fence” around the garden and a way we recycle old gear. )

The wakening of the world around us brings great energy, from eagles courting, seagulls raucous with their nesting on the islands out front, humpback whales gliding through the bay and packs of sea lions patrolling the shoreline. Underwater, our kelp farm is reaching its peak growth with fronds up to 6 feet long, and herring are once again massing up, waiting for the right time to spawn.

The other day Tollef caught a few of the shimmery fish to enjoy for everything from breakfast to dinner, and speaking of food, we’d love to share a spring-feeling salmon recipe we just fell in love with! It was actually Easter dinner around these parts, but it would be great for any occasion (or none at all). Not only was it perfectly delicious, it was also so easy.

The original recipe comes from Cooking Classy and can be found here. We can’t recommend it strongly enough. Using the foil packets makes the salmon come out just right, without worrying about overcooking it. True to form, we went off on our own tangent with ingredients and flavorings and used orange zest and juice instead of lemon and dill, partly because we didn’t have any lemon, but also because we love the slight sweetness of orange together with salmon. Here’s our variation:

1 salmon fillet, skinned and cut into serving size pieces

1/2 an orange

1 bunch asparagus

olive oil for drizzling

salt and pepper to taste

Aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse and pat dry the salmon, then very lightly salt and pepper tops and bottoms of the portions. Grate the zest of the orange, and divide it among the salmon portions, pressing in lightly. Squeeze a little orange juice over each portion. Let sit while completing the next steps. Place rectangles of foil big enough to hold the asparagus topped with a portion of salmon on the counter. Into the foil put a serving size of asparagus, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over. The salmon goes on top of the asparagus. At this time, also drizzle a little olive oil over the salmon (very light) and top with very thin slices of orange. Fold the foil over into a packet, place on a baking sheet (in case of any drips) and bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on how thick your salmon is. 20 minutes was perfect for our meal.