Gluten Free Mother's Day Dinner
Salmon over a bed of Asparagus and Quinoa
There is nothing I love more than a fresh piece of wild caught salmon. This is a Mother's Day dinner, I make specially for my mom!
What you need:
1/2 pound of fresh salmon per person
1/4 of quinoa per person
1/3 of a bundle of asparagus person, or about 7-10 stalks.
Chicken broth
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
To Star:
First, take your fresh salmon out of the wrapping and let it sit on a paper towel for a few minutes to absorb any excess moisture or water. Next, put a frying pan on the stove at medium-high heat, and pour in a 2 tsp. of olive oil, or just enough for the entire bottom of the pan to be coated. While you wait for the pan to heat up, get your quinoa simmering. To do that, measure how ever many cups of prepared quinoa you need, and reduce the raw quinoa to half. So, say you need 2 cups of finished quinoa, you will only use 1 cup of uncooked quinoa. Now, measure double the amount of chicken broth as the amount of quinoa and bring it to a boil, in a medium pot. Once the quinoa comes to a boil, reduce it to low and cover.
To start the fish cooking, lightly coat both sides with salt and pepper. Put the fish skin side down, into the heated pan. Add 1 tbsp. of butter. Don't flip the fish too soon. You are looking to get a nice brown crust on the skin, so let cook for 5-7 minutes before flipping. Once the salmon is able to be easily lifted, it is time to flip it. Let the second side cook for 2-3 minutes. To make sure the salmon is fully cooked, it should flake easily. The internal temperature of any fish should reach 145 degrees. Take the salmon of the heat, put it on a plate lined with a paper towel and cover with aluminum foil.
To prepare the asparagus, cut off the end, so the stalk has no hard part. Put the asparagus in the pan you cooked the salmon in at a medium heat and brown the asparagus. Once the asparagus has been slightly browned, add 1-2 tbsp, of butter. Reduce the heat, and allow the butter to caramelize and infuse flavor into the asparagus. Lightly season the asparagus with salt. Let it sit on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Take the asparagus off the heat, and put it on the bottom of the plate you are going to serve. Check to see if the quinoa is fully cooked. There should be no water left, and the white endosperms should have all popped out. Add the quinoa onto the asparagus, and top with the piece of salmon.
Congratulations, you have just cooked a fantastic meal your mom will love. Even if you burnt it, I'm sure your mom doesn't care! She is just happy you made a meal just for her! I hope all of you have a wonderful Mother's Day!
