baked salmon with asparagus

Simple salmon never gets old. Courtesy of Feasting at Home

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• Best for: dinner, serves 4

• Difficulty: easy

• Time: 10 minutes prep, 20 minutes oven

• Recommended pairings: yogurt dill sauce, recipe below

• If you like this, try... Crispy salmon with sesame and herbs

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This dish was chosen by the contents of our fridge the night before grocery day. Dinners like this are so easy to put together and look beautiful on the table. I used Trader Joe's Cucumber Garlic Dip and added lemon juice and dill, but I highly recommend making your own yogurt dill sauce a.k.a. tzatziki. It goes with everything, and the leftovers make a great salad dressing.

Ingredients

1 large bunch asparagus

1 – 1 1/4 lb of salmon, or 4 smaller filets (I doubled the recipe)

1–2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

pepper

lemon zest from 1/2 lemon

Yogurt Dill Sauce Recipe (optional):

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely minced

lemon zest of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped dill

1/4 cup chopped parsley (optional)

squeeze of lemon

cracked pepper

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First...

Preheat oven to 375F

If making, put together the Yogurt Dill sauce. (The longer it sits, the better.)

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with a fork. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and the pepper.

Then...

Trim the tough ends off the asparagus and toss with a light drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a parchment-lined pan, foil if you don't have parchment.

Nestle the salmon in the middle of the asparagus and drizzle with olive oil.

Sinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle the salmon and asparagus with lemon zest.

Then...

Place in the preheated 375F oven for 16-20 minutes, adjusting time, depending on thickness of the salmon, and broiling for the last couple minutes if you like.

(If cooking smaller salmon pieces, they may take less time, so check earlier and remove if needed,  allowing asparagus to cook longer if necessary.)

Finally...

Divide Salmon and asparagus among plates, top with yogurt dill sauce or store-bought tzatziki, and garnish with a sprig of dill if you like. Serve with a lemon wedge.