Think Spring
For some reason this dinner says "spring" to me, although the ingredients are available year-round. Maybe it's the beautiful green peas or the sweet-tart orange sauce on the salmon. Whatever, if you find yourself longing for spring this is a great meal to make plus it's healthy.
The salmon is quickly marinated and then served with a unique and fabulous sauce made with orange marmalade, soy sauce, and chopped pecans. Although the salmon recipe specifies plain toasted pecans, I like to make a batch of spiced pecans to freeze and use for recipes like this in addition to topping salads or stir fries. The sweet-spicy coating adds another layer of flavor to the dish without being overwhelming.
The three pea salad is made with sugar snap peas, snow peas, and green peas with a fresh and light vinaigrette. It goes beautifully with the salmon. Here's another idea - if you're planning Easter dinner, the three pea salad would be a fabulous side dish to an entree of ham along with some au gratin potatoes. The pink ham and creamy white potatoes would look beautiful alongside the emerald green peas. (I learned the importance of food colors on the plate from The Lawyer's parents, who are both artists.)
After this meal we found ourselves with some leftovers and combined them the next day with some cooked brown rice for a great cold salad. The orange sauce flavored the rice while the peas added crunch and the salmon added meatiness. Yum. Be sure to make extras!
Orange-Pecan Salmon printable recipe
Orange-Pecan Salmon
Serves 4
1 cup orange marmalade
½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 6-oz salmon fillets, approximately 1” thick, skinned
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
In a small bowl, combine the marmalade, soy sauce, salt
and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup marinade into a
large resealable plastic bag. Add the
salmon; seal bag and turn to coat.
Refrigerate for up to 30 minutes.
Set aside the remaining marinade.
Drain and discard marinade from salmon. Place salmon in a greased 11”x7” baking dish
and bake, uncovered, at 350d for 20-25 minutes or until the fish flakes easily
with a fork.
In a small saucepan, bring reserved marinade to a boil;
cook and stir until slightly thickened.
Serve sauce over the salmon; sprinkle with pecans.
Three Pea Salad printable recipe
Three Pea Salad
Serves 4
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
¼ lb sugar snap peas
¼ lb snow peas
6 oz frozen baby peas
In a large bowl, whisk together the shallot and
vinegar. Add the olive oil while
whisking, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside to allow the flavors to meld.
Trim the sugar snap peas and snow peas by cutting off the
tough ends. Bring a large saucepan of
water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with
ice water. Add the sugar snap peas to
the boiling water and blanch for 20 seconds.
Add the snow peas and cook an additional 20 seconds. Add the frozen baby peas and cook for 30
seconds longer. Drain and immediately
transfer the colander with the peas to the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again; spread the peas out on a clean
towel and pat dry.
Add the peas to the dressing and toss to coat.
