Roasted Green Herb Salmon and Butternut Squash

Roasted Salmon with Roasted Vegetables (see Mustard-Roasted Vegetable Recipe on separate post)

Last week was an exciting week in the kitchen. Gagi was in town, Joel and Mo came over for dinner and I got a new cookbook. And not just any cookbook...Ina Garten's latest release! I read through the entire 200-some page book that night and could have dog-eared almost all of the pages for recipes I will eventually try out. If you know me, you know I'm an avid Food Network watcher, and the Barefoot Contessa is my favorite. Of all the recipes I have tried by different Food Network stars, hers always turn out as promised. I've tried myriad recipes by other stars that do not turn out as hoped, like meatballs that fall apart and taste like a chunk of beef, chicken that's chewy and has no "wow" factor or baked goods that end up flat or hard as a rock. Needless to say, Ina's recipes always turn out and they are always delicious. There. That's my shameless plug for her newest cookbook.


For our dinner party last week, I used two of her new recipes. First, Roasted Salmon with green herbs.


Ingredients
1 (2 to 2.5 lb) skinless salmon fillet (Another shameless plug...Costco salmon is seriously delicious)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately one lemon)
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts (approximately 4 scallions)
1/2 cup fresh dill, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the salmon fillet in a glass roasting dish and season it generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Be sure to use a dish that is close to the size of the salmon fillet so there is not a lot of extra room for the flavors to run off. Also, if the salmon was frozen, be sure it is thawed completely prior to beginning the recipe.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Drizzle the mixture evenly over the salmon.

4. Let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature.
5. Meanwhile, slice the scallions, and mince the dill and parsley. Combine them in a small bowl.

6. Sprinkle the herb mixture over the entire salmon fillet on both sides.
7. Pour the white wine into the roasting dish around the salmon.
8. Roast in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The salmon will be almost cooked in the center at the thickest part. There should be a thin line of uncooked salmon in the very center.
*Note: This is key to cooking the fish perfectly. Fish continues to cook even once it is removed from the oven, so cooking it to how you want it while it's in the oven will leave you with an over-cooked fish.

9. Once removed from the oven, cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest on the counter for 10 minutes. The fish continues to steam itself in the hot dish. I use pot-holders to help me put the foil on, as the dish is still extremely hot.
10. Cut the salmon fillet crosswise into serving pieces. Ina recommends lemon wedges to serve on top.


To accompany the salmon, I used Ina's recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash. I had never diced up a whole butternut squash before, but it was actually very easy. You just need a good, sharp knife.

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. As the oven preheats, prepare the butternut squash. Here is how.
3. Place the diced butternut squash on a baking sheet.

4. Sprinkle with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss with your hands so all of the squash is evenly coated.
5. Roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing once with a spatula during cooking to ensure that the squash roasts evenly.
6. Remove from oven and serve. Once the squash is roasted, it will shrink considerably in size, so remember to make more than what you think you'll need.


To accompany the salmon and squash, I also served a fresh green salad and freshly sliced bread.

Ingredients
1 head romaine lettuce
1 head asparagus
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 large white onion
Freshly shaved parmesan cheese


Directions
1. Cut the white part of the romaine lettuce from the leaves and discard.
2. Wash the leaves in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and dry completely in a salad spinner. Set aside. If you don't have a salad spinner, just dry completely with the paper towel in the previous step.
4. Heat a dry skillet on the stove and add the pine nuts. Toss the pine nuts in the skillet over the heat until the pine nuts are browned and nicely toasted. It may seem like they are taking awhile at first, but once they start to brown, they brown quickly, so do not take your eyes off of them.
5. To blanch the asparagus, heat one inch of salted water in a large skillet to boiling. Break the ends off of the asparagus and add to the boiling water. Let simmer for 5 minutes or until just tender but still crisp. Remove the asparagus to a bowl of ice cold water to ensure that it keeps its rich green color. After the asparagus has cooled in the water, remove it to a cutting board and discard the water. Pat dry with a paper towel, and slice the asparagus on a diagonal into three pieces.
6. Thinly slice the white onion.
7. Place the dried romaine lettuce in a large salad bowl. Add the toasted pine nuts, asparagus and onion to the bowl and toss.
8. Top with freshly shaved parmesan cheese.