One-Pan Meal: Broiled Salmon with Mango Salsa and Broccoli

It's mango season, folks! Who's excited? The Smiths, that's who. I made this yummy (and easy) meal tonight and thought I'd share! The best part? It only uses one pan to cook in! (Ok - technically there is also a pyrex baking dish involved, but most of the cooking is done in one pan) The salsa is sweet and tangy, the salmon is moist inside and crispy on the outside, and the broccoli is fresh and crunchy. It's a good mix, I must say.

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1/4 cup salsa (I used the Publix brand... it's delish)
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Have I mentioned how much I love mango?

Broiled Salmon

1 large salmon filet (with skin on one side)
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 limes, juiced
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate (I always keep a can of this in the freezer - it's great stuff!)

Combine all ingredients (except salmon, of course) in a gallon ziploc bag. Swish them around to mix. Put salmon in the bag, skin side up. Allow to marinate 10-15 minutes on the counter. For the next steps, look at the broccoli recipe below.

Let's make a marinade!

Just like a bubblebath...

Crispy Broccoli

1 large head broccoli, washed and cut into florets
salt & pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Put broccoli in a microwaveable dish (I used an 8x8 pyrex). Put about 1/8 inch of water in the dish. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with cling wrap and microwave for about 1.5 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green and crunchy.

McSteamy

Prepare a sheet pan with two pieces of aluminum foil. Turn the edges up on all sides so that the flavors won't combine in the oven. Put the broccoli on one side and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Take the salmon out of the bag, slice it in half (lengthwise) and place it, skin-side down, on the aluminum foil.

It's almost like two mini sheet pans in one!

See? One pan?

Preheat the broiler (on high). Put the pan in the oven and check the broccoli after about 7 minutes (it's fast, I'm tellin' ya!). If it's browning nicely, just pull the mini aluminum foil pan out with the broccoli on it. Let the fish cook a few more minutes (maybe 3) and check it. When it's really browned on top, take it out and let it rest for a few minutes.

Browned tips = deliciousness

All that's left is to... eat it! Get that salsa out of the fridge and plate it up! I served mine with some crispy flour tortillas (I literally friend strips of flour tortillas) and we were happy campers!

I love making things that taste so good and aren't rough on the waistline! Speaking of waistlines... did you notice no starch in this meal? That's my new thing. I'm trying not to make a starch for dinner because I figure we get plenty during the day (cereal for breakfast...sandwich for lunch...granola bars for snacks... you get the idea).

Hope you enjoy it!

~ Mari

Something Fishy...

Today was fish day in Culinary I class. I can't believe how many people don't like fish! It blows my mind. I wonder how many of them have ever had good fish, though. We are in a land-locked state, so it sorta makes sense.

We learned to filet a flat fish and a round fish. My group (Lanna, Mindy, and I) also got to tackle some mussels. The recipe was just for mussels, but we made a pasta dish with marinara for 1/2 of the mussels (top picture) and a garlic white wine cream sauce for the other portion (middle picture). Delicious.

Our other assignment was Flounder Patouille (the third picture down). Basically, that is just a fancy way of saying: seared flounder with red bell peppers, red onion, celariac, and terragon - wrapped in butter-coated parchment paper, and tossed in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Everything went pretty well today and I'm feeling quite good about my new cooking abilities! Today was our LAST culinary I class in the kitchen. Sadness! But, next semester will be fantastic! Good times...