Lemon Garlic Salmon

If you've never made salmon before, this is a good recipe to start with.  It is quick, but full of lots of flavor.  Minced garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper are sprinkled on top of salmon before it is sauteed in a skillet.  I've made this many times in the past couple of years, but kept forgetting to actually take a picture for the blog!  It was actually Mark who first introduced me to cooking salmon.  He used to load it up with lots of lemon pepper before cooking it, and over time I've modified his version to this version.  We're both big fans of garlic, so the addition of garlic was not a hard sell. :)

This time I served the salmon with roasted kale and mushrooms, but I often use whatever vegetables sound good on the side.  You can also serve this with rice/bulgar/quinoa/bread if you are in the mood for carbs as well.  Recently I've been trying to have the majority of my plate be vegetables plus some protein and not focusing on the carbs.

Once you try this salmon recipe, I bet it will quickly become part of your regular rotation for fast weeknight dinners!

Lemon Garlic Salmon

serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 4-6 oz salmon fillets (I buy them frozen and skinless-- if yours are frozen then defrost before using in the recipe)
• 5 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lemon
• salt + pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

2) Zest the lemon and then juice the lemon, saving the juice in a small bowl.  Set the lemon juice aside.  Coat both sides of each salmon fillet with garlic and lemon zest.  Then, sprinkle both sides of each salmon fillet with salt and pepper (I used about 1/2 teaspoon of each total).  Note: If your salmon has skin, coat only the skinless side with garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

3) Once your pan and olive oil are hot, add coated salmon fillets (Cook salmon in two batches if necessary).  Cook for about 2 minutes until the edges of the salmon start to look cooked.  Add lemon juice to the pan.  Flip each fillet and cook on the other side for about 3 more minutes until completely cooked.  The outsides of the fillets should be browned and the inside temperature should be 145F.  Note that the length of time necessary to cook the salmon will vary depending on how thick it is.

4) Serve immediately with roasted vegetables or a salad.