Moroccan Roasted Salmon and Cauliflower

Serves: 4 people
Hands-on time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min

This roasted salmon recipe came from Cooking Light magazine. The basic recipe is intact but I modified a few things to make it healthier and fixed the time (as usual) to reflect actual prep work. (Read here about why cooking always take longer than the recipe says.)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 1 lemon
• 1 lb salmon filet, skin on

Tools

• medium sharp knife
• large mixing spoon
• cutting board
• baking sheet
• aluminum foil
• spatula
• large bowl
• small bowl
• citrus juicer
• 1-cup dry measuring cup
• set of measuring spoons
• serving bowl

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Combine these ingredients in a large bowl:
   1. olive oil
   2. 1/2 tsp ground cumin
   3. 1/4 tsp salt
   4. fresh ground pepper
3. Using the cutting board and sharp knife, remove the hard center stem of the cauliflower, and cut the rest into bite-sized florets.
4. Add cauliflower to the bowl with the spice mixture, and toss well with a large spoon.
5. Put a layer of aluminum foil on the baking sheet and spread out the spiced cauliflower on it. Put in oven on a center rack. Set timer for 18 minutes.
6. Chop cilantro and place in the cauliflower bowl.  Using juicer, juice half of the lemon and add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to the same bowl. (Reserve remaining juice for another purpose, or if you like things really lemony go ahead and throw it into the bowl.)  Cut up the other half of lemon into wedges and set aside.
7. Combine remaining cumin and salt, plus coriander and allspice in the small bowl.
8. Put the salmon filet on another piece of aluminum foil, skin side down, and spread spices evenly over it.
9. When timer rings check cauliflower.  It should be golden brown but if not leave in oven for 2 more minutes.  Remove sheet from oven and turn oven temp down to 400 degrees.
10. Move cauliflower and foil off of baking sheet, and carefully slide foil with salmon onto baking sheet.  Put sheet with salmon in the oven and set a timer for 12 minutes.
11. Put cauliflower back into the bowl with the lemon and cilantro and toss, then move to a serving bowl (optional) and cover loosely with a paper towel.
12. When salmon is done, check the center for doneness.  The ends will be more done than the middle, which works nicely if your eaters have different preferences for salmon doneness.  Otherwise you can cut the two end pieces off and put them on plates, and put the salmon back in the oven for three more minutes.  Keep the other pieces warm by covering them with a kitchen towel or paper towel. (Read here about using foil vs towels to keep food warm.)
13. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tips and Timesavers

• Use pre-chopped cilantro, but don’t use dried cilantro.  If you don’t have any don’t sweat it, the dish will taste fine without it.
• If your ground spices are more than a year old, add half again as much.
• Have the butcher cut your salmon filet into 4 equal pieces and reduce the cooking time to 8-10 minutes.

Nutrition (g)

• Serving Size: 4
• Calories: 270
• Protein: 30
• Fat: 11
• Carbs: 13
• Fiber: 3
• Sugar: 0

Photos

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