We’re working on dinner. Actual dinner that can live in our lives and on our tables without much fuss.
It’s time for a Bowl of Food. ย Simple, layered flavors that fill our bellies and build up our pantries for future meals.
It’s the holidays… I know. ย But we still need to feed ourselves reasonable food so all of the cookies and egg nog make sense in our system.
Last week’s Bowl of Food: ย Thai Beef Bowls with Fresh Vegetables.
Be well and happy dinner! ย xxo!
Here’s what’s in this Bowl of Food:
โข ย Salmon filet, skin on.
โข ย Farro, boiled and seasoned.
โข ย Seasoning: ย simply salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and creole seasoning
โข ย Vegetables, roasted. ย Really use whatever you have on hand. I happened to have a sweet potato, zucchini, carrots, onions, garlic (got to), and parsley.
Pantry staples to build our cupboards for now and for the future:
Vegetables ready for roasting.
They come out of the oven sizzling and browned. ย That’s how you know they’re done. Sort of like rocket science but easier.
Here’s how this dinner magic happens:
Farro is roasted to fluffy and softened. ย Seasoned well with salt and pepper.
Vegetables are roasted to brown and bubbling.
Yogurt (or sour cream, anything sour), is mixed with fresh cucumber and/or any fresh herbs you have on hand.
Salmon is seasoned on both sides with Creole Seasoning and fried skin-side-down until the skin is crisp. ย The salmon is then finished in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. ย Easy, really. I promise.
Piled in layers: ย Farro, vegetables, crispy salmon, yogurt sauce, wedge of lemon and go!
Bowl of Food: Pan-Seared Salmon with Roasted Vegetables
- Prep Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried farro
- sweet potato, peeled and diced carrots, sliced zucchini, coarsely chopped onions, crushed garlic cloves
- olive oil
- sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 pieces of boneless, skin-on salmon (how hungry are you? that’s how big your pieces should be)
- Creole seasoning
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
- 2 lemon wedges
Instructions
- Place a medium pot with salted water over a medium-high flame to boil. Once it comes to a simmer, add dried farro, reduce heat, and simmer until puffed and tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place diced vegetables in a single layer across the pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes. Roast until vegetables are tender and golden brown, flipping a few times during baking. The amount of time in the oven depends on your vegetables, so just keep an eye on them.
- To make the salmon, place a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Add the salmon skin side down and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the skin is crisp. Carefully flip and place in the oven for 5 minutes more.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Stir together yogurt, cucumber, sea salt and cracked black pepper.
- To serve, layer farro in a bowl. Top with roasted vegetables, crisp salmon, a spoonful of yogurt sauce and wedge of lemon.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
23 Responses
We had salmon & grouper this week, it’s kind of what I like to do the week before a holiday (and this is THE holiday) because it’s all about turkey and ham this week, and usually over-eating sweets. I also had someone surprise me with roasted butternut squash, cubed. Honestly, I had to ask what it was because I thought it was roasted sweet potato. With just salt and pepper. Plain old salt and pepper! Imagine!
Eating out of a bowl is so much more satisfying that off a plate.
Why do you have Ivanka Trump on your site!!!!!!!!!!!??????????
Is it an ad?
Sorry I can’t look at your blog anymore- you have Ivanka Trump ads in the middle of a salmon recipe. Goodbyr Joy!
Ads change often and it sometimes takes a minute for me to catch up with that they’re feeding. Don’t worry. No one wants that bullshit off my site more than I do. I’ll take care of it.
Simple meals are the best! Thanks, Joy! (And did you say ‘roast’ the farro?)
Maybe. And I definitely meant boil.
This looks too good to be true! I absolutely love salmon, but have struggled a little to find nice side dishes to go with it. Thanks for the tip!
Joy, your voice.. it brings me SO much joy. Your writing is pure pleasure. “Thatโs how you know theyโre done. Sort of like rocket science but easier.” I feel that this is how I always try to explain cooking to my friends and family. But more elegant. Wishing you the happiest of holidays. I so hope I can make it to the bakehouse in the coming year. I’m just a short drive from new orleans. xoxo keep being awesome.
Roasted veggies ar emy absolute favourite this time of year :D
This looks so delicious! I love salmon! I wonder if I could get my husband to eat it this way… That, would be a miracle.
This is perfect, Joy. I have kiddos coming home for Christmas and I like to feed them something special, but not something that will trap me in the kitchen all day long. I may substitute another kind of meat (we raise our own chickens and pigs) but the salmon looks delicious.
Thanks, Joy! My apartment kitchen is tiny and I can never motivate myself to do dinner for one – I really appreciate easy and scalable recipes like this :)
Delicious!
How is the creole seasoning used? Thanks.
Is Farro like rice? I’ve never had it and unfamiliar with it. Could brown rice be substituted?
Farro is a hulled wheat but you could certainly use a brown rice or quinoa!
Good idea.
I try really hard to have a variety of veggies around so that when we have, say, salmon, we don’t have orange with orange with orange (worse is white with white with white–chicken or white fish with cauliflower and rice or potatoes). I was kicking myself for doing lactaire mushrooms the same day as salmon–both orange–but we did have Brussels sprouts to balance the colors.
This is the most pretentious thing I’ve ever read.
Hi Guest, I have heard this from nutritionists and read a lot of health/science coverage that support the idea that differently colored plants provide different nutrients. Cooking with plants in a spectrum of colors is a way of ensuring you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. Also, having a variety of colors and textures on your plate helps you feel more satiated and you may eat fewer calories. So, while this may not be the way you cook, I wanted to share with you why others may chose to do so for their own health or pleasure. Take care.
Can’t even comprehend what you said……..
Cool story.