Citrus Salmon

Along my quest for finding other recipes for quick but healthy meal preparations, I was finding the quick but missing the healthy options.  So, I realized there are no better quick and healthy meal preparations other than my own, and I decided to share them! 

As we have all been told, there are great health benefits to eating fish, particularly salmon.  Preparing fish is one of the easiest, quickest, and healthiest meals.  For starters, I am personally not a fan of buying previously frozen fish.  I find that you get more of that "fishy" taste and smell that is unappealing to most.  Plus, you have no idea how long that piece of fish has been sitting frozen.  Mainly for those reasons, I tend to opt for fresh fish. 

I bought fresh Salmon at my local Costco on Sunday, and I immediately came home and started preparing the meal I am going to share...I also am a big fan of preparing the same day I buy to also avoid that fishy smell and taste.  Remember, the longer it sits in your fridge, the less fresh and tasty it will be when prepared. 

Costco usually sells in larger quantities, so I cut the piece we bought in half and saved the other half for the next night's meal. 

I start with a glass dish that is large enough to contain my fish and is oven safe.  Coat the bottom with a generous portion of olive oil to make sure the fish does not stick to the bottom of the glass.  Place the fish on the olive oil coated dish, and coat the fish with another layer of olive oil.  Again, be generous with the olive oil.  There are great health benefits to olive oil, and I have eliminated all other oils from my diet and strictly use olive oil. 

I use a lot of lemon with many of my fish recipes.  It adds a nice flavor but also cuts that fishy smell and taste.  I start with zesting the lemon on the fish, which adds a really nice citrus flavor and aroma. 

I then cut the lemon that I zested, along with another lemon, and I pressed the juice of two lemons over the fish.  Add a generous amount of salt to make sure the fish is completely seasoned.  Add another generous amount of ginger powder, other herbs of choice (I used dried Basil, dried Oregano and dried Rosemary).  Garlic is also key.  I sliced 3 garlic cloves and placed the garlic on top of the fish and in the olive oil / lemon juice mixture on the side of the fish.  I find that spices like garlic and the ginger powder also take that fishy smell / taste and make the fish really pleasant and tasty.  For this recipe, I cut up a half of a jalapeno and added to the dish, but some may not like spicy foods.  In this case, just use a pinch of black pepper and drizzle over the fish. 

The next part is what makes the dish presentable.  Depending on the size of your fish, you may need 1-2 more lemons.  Cut them in thin slices, and place the lemons over the fish to completely cover the fish.  I find this process helps add moisture from the top of the fish, locks in all that flavor, and adds a beauty element to the dish. 

When you are done, place a piece of aluminum foil over the fish and pop everything in the oven.  Turn the oven on at 350 degrees, and cook the fish for 30-35 minutes.  You should have a perfectly cooked, moist, delicious and pretty piece of fish at the end.  Dressing the fish takes me about 10 minutes at most, so from the time I start to the time I serve, it takes anywhere from 40-45 minutes.  The oven does most of the work for me on this one. 

Ingredients:
Salmon
4-5 lemons
dried herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary, or anything else)
ginger powder
garlic
olive oil
salt
jalapeno (optional)