Salmon with Garlic Mushrooms & Broccolini

Salmon with Garlic Mushrooms & Broccolini
Serves 4

One of the first dishes I ever cooked in a restaurant back in the 1980’s was garlic mushrooms. At that time, the dish was on practically every menu in the UK, along with prawn cocktail, steak au poivre and black forest gateaux. Boy, they were the good old days, full of long hours in the kitchen under a tremendous amount of pressure, adrenaline pumping through your body, but you just kept moving and you were so responsive and alert with all the moving parts of a busy kitchen. It’s amazing how I was able to cope with the stress, the heat, and the number of orders served during lunch and dinner. I don’t know how I found the energy to work out or pop by and see friends after work, but you just did.

Today, I still feel that energy, but now I believe it comes from eating whole, fresh foods (especially fish) packed with nutrition not added preservatives, colorants, fat, sugar, or salt. A healthy diet along with a daily exercise routine and a positive attitude, I believe keeps me young at heart. As I like to tell myself I’m 56 going on 36. My body might be getting older, but my mind is forever young.

This is one of the recipes that I enjoy with my family. It is full of nutrition, takes around 15 minutes to make from start to finish, and the flavor never disappoints.

Ingredients:
For the salmon
4 6oz wild salmon fillets
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 teaspoon ground paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, juice only

For the mushrooms and broccolini
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced or quartered
4 cups broccolini
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

How to make:
Preheat oven to 380◦F. Place the salmon fillets onto a lightly oiled baking tray. Drizzle over the olive oil. Next, sprinkle over the chili flakes and paprika and then season with salt and pepper. Pop the tray into the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven. Squeeze the lime juice over the fillets.

While the salmon is cooking, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat on the stove. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the broccolini and stir-fry for approximately 2 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Finish by adding the minced garlic and cooking for another minute. Stir in the parsley, and serve immediately with the salmon.