Pan Fried Salmon & Mediterranean Veg

Now that the nights are becoming longer and summer is around the corner I’m getting the taste for fresh flavours over the hearty winter meals I’ve had so many of. So here is the first of many,  my pan fried salmon & mediterranean veg. The veg is roasted and served with quinoa/salad.

My favourite veggie combo – Salmon & mediterannean veg

I absolutely love mediterranean vegetables after they have been cooked to perfection in the oven. There is a fair amount of chopping to do but aside from that you can chuck it all in a roasting dish, splash with olive oil and just leave it in the oven until it’s done. I always make med veg when we have summer barbeques, as you can prep ahead of time then just decant into a big bowl for everyone to help themselves to. It beats the lonely bowl of cherry tomatoes you often see..

Mediterreanean Veg Salmon

But alas, we are not quite in barbeque season yet. To be frank, most of the time it doesn’t even feel very spring like with the grey skies and rain, but we’ll get there eventually. So the accompanying salmon was cooked in a pan. I like salmon to be crispy and favour the grill or pan over the oven. I use a non-stick pan so you can put the salmon straight in without the need for any extra greasing. The fish is naturally oily and will be fine on it’s own.

A great source of protein

This is a great mid-week meal, healthy, filling and often there’s leftover veggies you can add to your lunch for the next day. Plus the salmon and quinoa are high in protein, so perfect after a work out also. Although do be aware there is some prep work with the chopping so it isn’t the quickest meal. Worth the effort though! You could always use ready cooked salmon and microwave quinoa to save time, although my recipe includes the steps to make these. Keep it simple, do what suits you and enjoy!

Mediterranean Veg & Salmon

A healthy, protein rich dinner of pan fried salmon with delicious roast mediterannean vegetables. Served with pumkpin seed quinoa and salad.

Cuisine Mediterranean
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 2
Author Chrissy Fortune

Ingredients

For the pan fried salmon

  • 2 Fillets Salmon
  • Salt & pepper

For the Mediterreanean Veg

  • 1 Courgette
  • 1 Red onion
  • 1 Red Pepper
  • 1 Sweet potato
  • 10 Cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tsp Mixed herbs
  • 1 tsp Garlic salt
  • Salt & pepper

For the quinoa

  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 1 cube Vegetable stock
  • 2 cups Water
  • 2 tsbp Pumpkin seeds
  • 1 clove Garlic

Serve with

  • 1 handful Mixed salad leaves
  • Salad veg of choice (cucumber, artichoke, etc)

Instructions

Roasted Mediterreanean Veg

  1. We'll start with the mediterreanen vegetables. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees / 180 fan and set aside a large roasting tray.

  2. Wash all your vegetables and chop into chunks, aside from the red onion which can be cut into wedges and the cherry tomatoes which can be left whole.

  3. Chuck all the prepared vegetables into the roasting tray and drizzle over 1tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle on the mixed herbs and garlic salt. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Put the tray onto the middle shelf of a pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked and becoming crispy. Turn half way through cooking.

Quinoa

  1. Once you have put the vegetables in the oven it is time to start the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa under a running tap of cold water for a few minutes and set aside.

  2. Put the two cups of water into a pan and bring to a boil, crumbling in the vegetable stock cube. Once bubbling away add the quinoa.

  3. Leave the pot of quinoa to bubble away on high for a few minutes, stir and then turn the heat down to medium-low. Put the lid on the pot and leave alone for 15 minutes.

  4. Once cooked the quinoa should have absorbed all the liquid. Leave the pot to stand with the lid on for 5 minutes or until ready to serve as this will keep it piping hot. Before serving mix in the pumpkin seeds. Crush the garlic and stir this in also.

Pan Fried Salmon

  1. This is the easy part. Use a non-stick pan and you won't require any additional oil. Heat the pan on a medium-high setting. Whilst the pan reaches the desired temperature season both sides of the salmon fillets with salt and pepper.

  2. When the pan is hot add the two fillets of salmon, skin side down. Once the salmon begins to cook it will release it's own oils. Cook on one side until the skin starts becoming crisp (4-5 minutes) then flip onto the other side. Continue to cook until the salmon is done in the middle. You can cut it in half to check.

Serving

  1. Prepare two plates with a leafy side salad. Add any extras you desire (I used cucumber, artichoke and a dash of salsa). Arrange a generous portion of the mediterreanean veg, a fist sized portion of the quinoa, spinkle some pumpkin seeds on top and finally the salmon fillet. Now you're ready to dig in!

Recipe Notes

For heat lovers, you can change up the seasoning for the mediterreanean veg by adding chilli powder. I also added chilli flakes to my salmon for a little extra kick.

This dish is made extra lovely with a fresh salad dressing or salsa.

Yum

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