Lemon-Roasted Salmon with Escarole, Asparagus, and Potatoes

This got a hearty thumbs-up from my book club at lunch Friday, and it’s a great way to serve a complete meal on one platter. Salmon is rubbed with lemon zest, herbs and oil and roasted with red peppers. Then placed on top of a salad of lettuce, asparagus and potatoes tossed with a lemony dill flavored dressing. A fresh baguette and you’re done.

I made some adjustments to the recipe based on my own preferences and some of the comments (which I always find invaluable) which followed on Epicurious. The dressing seemed to need to be punched-up, and the additional of two minced garlic cloves plus about 3/4 tsp. of Dijon mustard did the trick. Highly recommend that. Also steaming the vegetables would work fine, but I prefer the flavor and ease of roasting them. If you parboil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then you can roast them together with the asparagus (all tossed with a bit olive oil) at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, depending on the width of the asparagus spears. I have two ovens, and roasted the salmon at 350 degrees for 25 minutes and it was just right. Next time I’ll just try it all together in one oven at 375 degrees.

I like feta, but wondered if it might be overkill with so much already going on here. The answer from my tasters was a resounding no! One even went back to add more feta. I doubled this for 9 people, and asked my fishmonger for two 1 1/2 pound pieces of salmon, both about the same thickness. Fish will separate easily from its skin when roasted, just slide your spatula under the cooked fish to separate it.

And lastly , the escarole available looked pretty beat up. Since I find it a bit bitter anyway, I happily used crunchy Romaine lettuce, which worked perfectly. Credit to Anna Stockwell for this lovely spring menu!

For the salmon:

1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet

2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp. finely chopped oregano

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp.freshly ground black pepper

3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

4 oz. roasted red peppers from a jar, thinly sliced

For the salad:

1/2 pound small new potatoes, halved

1 bunch asparagus (about one pound) trimmed (I cut each spear into thirds for ease of eating)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped dill, plus sprigs for serving

1/2 head of escarole, coarsely chopped (about 8 cups)

3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Cook the salmon:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the salmon in a baking dish and rub with lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper on all sides, then coat with oil. Arrange peppers around salmon. Bake until salmon is firm but still pink in the center, about 20 minutes. (if you prefer salmon more well done, cook an additional 5 minutes).

Meanwhile make the salad:
Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 2″of water. Cover pot and bring water to a boil. Add potatoes, cover, and steam until tender, 10-12 minutes. Add asparagus to potatoes, cover and steam until crisp tender, 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup dill in a small bowl or measuring cup. Toss escarole with half of the dressing in a large bowl, then transfer to a serving platter.

Toss the potatoes and asparagus with remaining dressing in the same bowl, then arrange over the lettuce. Flake the salmon into large pieces and arrange on the platter. Top with feta, peppers,and dill sprigs. Serves 4.