I admit, I’m not much of a fan of having fruit or other “dessert” related toppings added to my meat or seafood. Cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving? Umm, no thanks. Mint sauce on my lamb? Are you kidding me? Applesauce on my porkchops? I’d rather have a little Dijon to dip in. You get the idea.
So, when reading a popular Canadian Parenting magazine the other night, I found myself surprised to be slightly salivating at the mouth at the suggestion of what one should be eating on a regular basis. A doctor had said the the four best things to eat (health and nutrition wise) were blueberries, salmon, spinach and nuts. I started thinking to myself, “Well, those would be a perfect compliment to one another in a meal.” The first thing that came to mind was a fresh, wild caught salmon fillet, smothered in a savory blueberry sauce, laying on a thick bed of spinach. The nuts, well, I couldn’t think of a way to add them, save for making salmon cakes and coating them in nuts. Too much work for my Saturday night dinner, thank you very much.
So I give you my ultra healthy (save for all that butter, but you know me) take on three of the four best foods to be eating. You will be getting omega-3s (the best kind), vitamin A, iron, protein, vitamin B6, folic acid, calcium, copper, selenium, vitamin, E, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, niacin, etc. As well as loads of antioxidants from the blueberries. So, think of this as my gift to you for your health. Enjoy!
Baked Salmon with Blueberry Sauce
2 wild salmon fillets, skin on
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
Blueberry Sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch
juice from half a lemon
5 oz. frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp Crema Di Balsamico
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fresh thyme
black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp butter
1. In small bowl, mix butter and garlic.
2. Pat salmon dry with cloth or paper towel, then rub with butter and garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In small glass or bowl, mix lemon juice and cornstarch until combined. Pour into small sauce pan along with remaining sauce ingredients (save for the butter, this will go in just before serving).
4. Bring sauce to a simmer and continue to cook on low for 20-30 minutes, which will reduce the sauce by approximately half the volume.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, in an oven proof sauté pan, heat a small amount of butter on med/high. When temperature is high enough, lay salmon, skin side down in pan. Fry for 1-2 minutes or until the flesh just begins to turn from pink (or red) to a white-ish colour. Remove pan from heat and place in oven. Continue to cook in oven for another 7-8 minutes or until just cooked. Salmon flesh should spring back just slightly when pushed on with one finger.
6. Stir butter into blueberry sauce to finish and pour over salmon fillets just before serving.
This meal may look complicated and gourmet, but in reality it takes about 30 minutes to make, and about 5 minutes flat to eat. Serve on a bed of steamed spinach for ultimate nutrition.
I’ve got all the ingredients for this. Was it overly sweet?
No, not too sweet at all! Like I said in the post, I really don’t enjoy my meat with sweet foods, so I was pleasantly surprised with the flavours!
wow, looks fabulous! I made a similar dish once with a blackberry sauce. love the flavor combination! salted or unsalted butter?
salted butter and thank you!
That looks very delicious. I love salmon, especially teriyaki salmon.
.-= MaryMoh´s last blog ..Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes =-.
Hi Liz, tried your pulled pork recipeand boy was it good. Tasted just like the dish I had at the Memphis Blues Restaurant in Vancouver. Ultra easy and delicious. I love reading your blog.
I’ve never really been a huge blueberry fan but I might have to make the exception to try this. The colors on the plate are gorgeous.
This is gorgeous and fabulous.loving the ingredients, the color, the fruit with the salmon. A definite”must do.”
That’s very creative, I have never had this before and I am sure going to try it out
Wow! What a refreshing recipe! Love the idea of blueberry sauce on salmon!
.-= Sook´s last blog ..Apple Pecan Crisp =-.
Oh dear lord, this is bliss on a plate! At least, I’m sure it tastes that way, but the pictures have my mouth watering and not really looking forward to the Shepherd’s pie we put together tonight! But thanks for an excellent idea!
Oh my! I LOVE that you combined all the healthiest foods into one dish! I am going to have to make this immediately! I’ll admit, I felt the same way as you about cranberry sauce, until last year, now I love it. So I have a feeling I am really going to love this!
.-= Sonja @ ActiveFoodie´s last blog ..Dad’s Breakfast Polenta =-.
What a creative dish! This looks delicious!
.-= Emily´s last blog .."How I Wish It Were Spring" Salad =-.
Easy, healthy and delicious? Can’t go wrong with this one, that’s for sure.
We rarely eat fish at home because it’s hard to find really good, fresh fish in Ontario (and even when we do find it, it doesn’t quite live up to the gorgeous fish I’ve eaten on the East and West Coasts)… still, I’m definitely going to try this one next time they have a nice piece of salmon at the store.
Thanks everyone, for the many compliments! This dish is definitely going to be my go to way to cook salmon. I loooove salmon, and would eat it everyday if it wasn’t so expensive.
Good of you to try to combine the healthiest foods in one dish. Too bad I’m not a big fan of blueberry sauce. I prefer my blueberries in muffins.
.-= Nate @ House of Annie´s last blog ..Buah Tarap – Borneo’s Unique Tropical Fruit =-.
This looks so yummy, my kids would love this.
sounds like an interesting combination. Always looking for new ideas with blueberries and this is definitely one I hadn’t heard of. Thanks!
Wow, Elizabeth, this could go on the cover of a magazine. I’d give this combination two thumbs up.
I know how especially good BC salmon is–wish I had some right now!
.-= Aimee´s last blog ..My Mother’s Butter Tarts =-.
Incredible. I love the colors in this dish. I would never have thought of putting this combination together, but it looks delish!
.-= Kristi Rimkus´s last blog ..Country Pork Skillet with Potatoes and Mushrooms =-.
Definitely going to try this one – and, if I eat the nuts while cooking the salmon dish, all the nutrients will be covered….
You’re so right Nancy, I never thought of that!
I LOVE these savory blueberry topping! It looks beautiful and probably tastes even better. Cheers!
.-= Rachel J´s last blog ..Honey Nut Cheesecake Squares =-.
Uh, you do know that mint is an herb and not a fruit, yes?
Kringla, I do know that mint is an herb, which is why I said fruit or “dessert” related sauces. I was speaking of sweeter sauces on meats, which is quite clear in the paragraph, but thank you.
What is Crema Di Balsamico? If I can’t find it in the supermarket, is there a way to make it at home?
Thanks!!
Crema Di Balsamico is basically a Balsamic reduction. Some varieites have grape must or grape juice added for sweetness. It is a thick, slightly sweet and sour sauce. If you can’t find it, simply reduce Balsamic vinegar and maybe add some sugar for sweetness.
That salmon looks really good!
very lovely looking dish! i love the color combination also the interesting taste combination!
great creation!
.-= lululu´s last blog ..Rosemary Lemon Cookie =-.
i did it tonight cause i had all (or almost) your ingredient and i was in the mood fish. Even if i change some stuff like chicken broth ( cause i didn’t have any) for milk, it was totally delicious, this mix of flavor is absolutly delicious. thanks alot for creating that.
Do you have the nutritional data for this so I can figure Weight Watcher points? Calories, fiber grams, fat grams? It looks absolutely stunning! Thanks!
Sorry, I don’t calculate nutritional data, but there are plenty of calorie counters on the web to do it for you. Just tally up all the ingredients.
Salmon is one of my favorite dishes to prepare so I had to try your recipe for myself. It came out very delicious. Thanks
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Well hello there! This salmon dish looks delicious – as for the nuts you could have added toasted pine nuts to the spinach! I’ve read recipes that actually called for it. It’s pretty common in Italian cooking. I’ve made a scallop and arugula pasta with toasted pine nuts several times – so it would be along the same lines of seafood, a leafy green, and nuts (just minus the noodles).
.-= Caitlin´s last blog ..Foodie Goodness =-.
Those looks good. I gotta try it since I have Blueberries that need to be eaten/used soon. And I refuse to make any muffin, pancakes, or anything sweet. This is such a good idea.
.-= T´s last blog ..Guess What Are These? =-.
This salmon recipe looks wonderful and I would love to make it but can you tell me what Crema di Balsamico is? Is that something related to Balsamic vinegar?
I love all of your site and have bookmarked you. I have another question too. How do you get such wonderful color in your photographs? I have a food blog too….I’m real new to it but my pictures don’t look anything like yours as far as the color goes so if you could give me some help as to what to do, I would appreciate it so much.
Here is my site if you want to take a look.
http://sandi-anewyorkfoodie.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
Sandi
I’ve answered this question already. See above. Thanks for the compliments and I have e-mailed you privately regarding photography.
I tried it, but forgot the butter, and used regular balsamic. Was good, but it was kinda bland and missing ‘something.’ Now i know what it was…the salted butter would;ve helped, and the sugar in the reduced Crema Balsamica would’ve added that extra oomph. I shall persevere and try it again!
I just made it. I also used regular balsamic. I couldn’t find the recommended one. I paired mine with pearled basil and herb couscous and romaine lettuce salad. It is really good! Wasn’t that hard to make at all. Thanks!
Added some caramelized pecans and there you go. Salmon, Blueberries, Spinach, And Nuts.
I am just learning how to cook healthy i”m a deabetic my whole family needs to start eating healthy we all need to go back to basics not all these prepard foods thank you so much for this salmon and blueberry dish i will have my wife help me cook this dish tomorrow night
dan
I have tried this and loved it. I have 2 kids and I like things simple so If you live in a area that has a Hannaford Grocery store they have inspirations line that has a blueberry marinade and a sweet apple grilling sauce Both AMAZING on the salmon and not overly sweet!!!
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Greetings from Los angeles! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out your site on my iphone during lunch break.
I really like the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI,
just 3G .. Anyhow, very good blog!
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