450g green beans
280g cherry tomatoes
160g chopped black olives (not Kalamata olives, too salty with the anchovies)
1 handful fresh basil
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cans anchovy fillets
4 thick salmon fillet steaks (with or without skin)
2 lemons
Fresh bread, to serve.
Preheat the oven to its very highest setting (yes, really.)
Wash and tail the green beans, then drop them into a pan of boiling water. After 3 minutes drain them and refresh under the cold tap. Leave them to air dry on a tea towel.
Wash and dry the olives, tomatoes and basil, then place them in a large bowl with the beans and the olive oil. Mix them together with your hands, then tip them onto your biggest baking tray. Rub oil all over the tray with your hands, then budge the veggies over to one side to make room for the salmon. Lay the anchovies over the veg (no need to pat them dry first, the oilier they are the better they’ll sizzle in the oven.)
Wash your salmon steaks, pat them dry and place them next to the veggies. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over both sides, and season with a little salt and plenty pepper. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Place the roasting tray in the oven for ten minutes, then check it. The anchovies should have disintegrated and some of the tomatoes should have burst. If the salmon is cooked to perfection it will flake open easily and have turned a paler pink throughout, but if you cook it too long it will shrink in size and be harder to flake open. If the salmon cooks before the veggies, remove it and stick them back in the oven.
My roasting tray is too big to bring to the table, so I transfer it all to a platter and serve with lemon wedges and bread. Delicious!
Roast salmon is always a treat, and this recipe throws everything together in one roasting pan for an easy, healthy supper which is full of flavour.
Jamie Oliver invented this recipe, and a google search reveals that it’s wildly popular. Unlike several of his ‘quick’ recipes, this one is genuinely easy. It can also be prepared in advance, which makes it perfect for serving to guests. The anchovies disintegrate among beans and juicy cherry tomatoes, creating a big heap of healthy flavour to accompany the salmon. The only downside is that it’s more expensive than some of my other favourite recipes.
When you read the ingredients, you might wonder how on earth I can claim that this recipe is healthy when it’s quite high in fat. The thing is, which fats? It’s really important that we get enough omega 3, and salmon and anchovies are a great source. At the same time we need to be reducing our consumption of omega 6 oils (vegetable oil), but olive oil is used in this recipe which is still considered to be a healthy oil. To find out how to optimize your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, click here.
The carb in this meal is bread, and for me that’s more problematic than the oil. You could serve it with white rice instead, but the fun here lies in dunking your bread into all the juices which are absolutely delicious. If I know I’m cooking this in the evening, I avoid sandwiches and pasta through the day, because eating lots of refined carbs makes me feel bad.
Of course pancakes are delicious, but I always feel a bit sickened with myself after eating them, and would like to lie down for a nap. Here are two healthier pancake recipes. They are higher in fibre, and contain protein in the form of nuts and seeds, but they still feel indulgent because (after all) they are pancakes.
This tray bake is rich in fibre, full of taste and so easy to prepare. Serve it with greens for an extra health kick.
Roast salmon is always a treat, and this recipe throws everything together in one roasting pan for an easy, healthy supper which is full of flavour. Jamie Oliver invented this recipe, and a google search reveals that it’s wildly popular.
If you think the only curry children can handle is a chicken korma, think again. The sweetness in this curry comes from the cabbage, but shh! It’s pureed, so the kids needn’t even know it’s in there. If you’d like to know how to cook a healthy curry packed with flavours that every member of the family can enjoy, read on.
