I never thought my five year old child would take to salmon like a fish in water, but he absolutely loves it. So much so that he tries to eat our parent portions righ off our plates. I find, though, the tough task is getting him to eat the rest of the food on his plate which usually consists of carb and vegetable sides. You would think eating carbs would be a piece of cake, but anything other than tator tots is quite tricky at his age.
I tried all types of cooked potatos with him – mashed, baked, diced but he still was not a fan of any of them. Then I remembered a Costa Rican rice recipe that my stepfather used to make when I was a kid that I devoured every time, so it’s no surprise my son loves it too! Throw in a few small trees (brocolli, same as the Hulk eats, or so I made up), salmon pieces and we have a well balanced meal that is one of my son’s favourites!
Seared salmon, rice and brocolli. It’s easy and the best part is, adults love it too. Here’s what to do for a family of four – just increase the portions for more.
INGREDIENTS:
- 11/2 cup basmati rice
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 4 pieces of salmon (deboned)
- 3 cups of brocolli
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 8 – 10 lemon wedges
- Optional: coriander, sweet chilli for garnish
METHOD:
RICE:
Dice your onion into small pieces and fry off on medium to high in a saucepan until golden or even a bit crispy. Add your rice and top with 2 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of water. Add a few pinches of salt and pepper. Let boil for 3-4 min and then lower your heat to low-medium and cover your saucepan. Cook for 20 min.
SALMON:
Take your salmon out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 10 min before cooking. Add a bit of salt and pepper to your fish prior to you cooking it. When your rice has been cooking for 10 min, add a layer of olive oil to a large, non-stick frying pan. Add your salmon pieces to the pan, skin side first on high heat for crispy skin. Once the skin is seared after 3-4 min, rotate your salmon on medium heat for about 2 – 3 minutes for each side until all sides are seared. It should take about 12 min in total for your salmon to cook through. While cooking squeeze some lemon over your salmon on the pan. Remove from heat and rest for 5 min.
BROCOLLI:
Too easy, just boil or steam your brocolli 6 – 8 min before your salmon is ready. Serve with butter, lemon or both.
SERVE:
To make your dish look pretty, add your warm rice to a ramican and press down a bit. Turn it over on the plate and lift the ramican to leave your rice in a nice looking shape. Place salmon, brocolli, lemon wedges on the plate and garnish with a sprinkle of coriander (for those who like it), or a dollup of sweet chilli. For the kids, dice up the salmon into delicous bite-sized pieces. And there you go – an easy dinner winner for all!
Creative Mum 