Work Night Dinner: Lemon Pepper Salmon and Roasted Broccoli

If you ask my son, Bear, what his favorite food is he will typically say salmon. And he means it. Whenever I make salmon he will eat at least a half pound by himself (at age 6). I can’t imagine how much he will eat as a teenager! If I ever ask what he would like for dinner while I’m meal planning, he’ll request salmon. So, we eat salmon at least 3-4 times a month.

Bear eating his massive piece of salmon.

Ladybug can do a number on salmon as well, hence why we have to buy 2 lbs of salmon for our family of four!

I sometimes hear from friends that they do not like fish but that they especially do not like salmon. I think in most cases that means they do not like poorly cooked fish and salmon is often very, very poorly cooked. Typically, it is way overdone which makes it taste fishy. Properly cooked salmon does not have that overly fishy taste. Moral of the story: Don’t overcook salmon and you may actually like it (or love it)!

Today I am sharing the way I cook salmon most often. This recipe is great for when you want to have a light, healthy dinner that is made quickly on one pan. If you wanted a heartier meal, you could add some roasted potatoes as well.

Ingredients:

1.5 to 2 lbs fresh salmon
Lemon pepper or other seasoning mix
2 Tablespoons butter
- substitute with olive oil or ghee to make Whole30 compliant
3-4 slices of fresh lemon
3 crowns broccoli
Olive
Salt
Pepper

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Open up a bottle of rosé and pour yourself a glass
Put down a layer of foil to cover half of a large baking tray
Place the salmon skin side down on the foil
Sprinkle a nice layer of lemon pepper or other seasoning mix directly on the salmon
Cut pads of butter and lemon slices
Arrange butter and lemon slices on top of salmon
Place another layer of foil on top of the salmon
Roll the edges of the foil together to create a packet around the salmon
Cut florets of broccoli off the broccoli crowns

Place broccoli on the other half of the pan
Drizzle broccoli with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper or other seasoning mix
Place pan in oven for 30 minutes
- 30 minutes will give you salmon that is cooked just all the way through. If you like more of a medium rare cook, reduce the time to 20-25 minutes.
After 30 minutes, open foil packet and slice salmon
- The salmon should be moist and tender, not firm.
Use a turner/flipper to slide between the salmon and skin so you can serve it skinless
Add broccoli to the plate and serve