Baked Asian Salmon & Asparagus

This post was originally published as Day 4: Cold Weather Recipes by Laurel on Health Food blog.

Today is day 4, and since Thursdays are my busiest day, I made this one a quick and easy meal, perfect for a weeknight.

I love how this recipe only messes up one pan, and there’s hardly any chopping or dicing. That means less dishes for me to clean up when I don’t have much time after work. To complete your meal, serve this dish with baby red potatoes and onions or a scoop of whole grains. There’s plenty of sauce with the fish so you won’t have to season them separately.

Cold Weather Tip: When the weather is bad, try planning out your meals a few days in advance. You can pick up fresh salmon and asparagus over the weekend and have it ready for a quick preparation on a weeknight when you’re too cold or tired to spend much time cooking or shopping for groceries. You could even make the dressing in advance, though it only takes a couple minutes to prepare.

Baked Asian Salmon & Asparagus
(serves 2-3)

Asian Salmon & Asparagus fresh out of the oven

1 lb. salmon
1 lb. asparagus
1 large garlic clove
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. whole grain mustard (or dijon)
Juice from 2 lime wedges
1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Trim the ends off the asparagus. Take out a sheet pan and place the asparagus on one end. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp. olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. Put the salmon skin side down on a big piece of foil. In a small bowl, whisk together the rest of the olive oil, honey, soy sauce, mustard, lime juice, red pepper flakes. Chop up the garlic clove and sprinkle half of it on top of the asparagus, and add the other half to the dressing. Pour the dressing on top of the salmon and then wrap the foil over the top, pinching together the ends to create a steam packet. Put the foil packet on the other half of the sheet pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Tip: If the asparagus begins to brown before the salmon is done cooking, cover it with a piece of foil.

See also Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of this marathon.

Close-up of the baked salmon

Salmon and asparagus before baking