Salmon | Asparagus | Risotto

I was ready to make dinner and realized I did not take my fish out to thaw last night. Bummer. I have done this before of course...have you? If I have a couple hours to spare I will put the fish in a bowl of cold water to thaw. But I didn't have a couple hours so I cooked it frozen, are you saying whaaat ?? Yup, you heard me right sometimes I cook my fish from frozen it's not ideal, takes a little longer but it is still delicious and good for you.

I didn't make this up on my own. A couple of years ago I found a few websites that helped me get over the fear of just throwing a frozen piece of fish in the oven. It was liberating when I learned these techniques. Fish is quick and easy to prepare, even when you cook it from a frozen state.

Check out this website: Cook it Frozen!. It has step-by-step videos on how to broil, grill, saute or steam frozen fish.

Broiling frozen fish:

• Preheat broiler to medium-high heat (450ºF)
• Rinse seafood under COLD water to remove any ice glaze; pat dry with paper towel
• Brush both sides of fish with high oleic vegetable oils: olive, canola, peanut, grapeseed, soy or safflower. Avoid butter, sunflower or corn oil as they will burn at high heat. **I use coconut oil.
• Place seafood on spray-coated broiling pan or foil-lined baking sheet
• Cook 12 to 15 minutes
• For best results with frozen fish, cook 4 minutes before seasoning with butter or spices
• Flip only very thick portions
• Remove from heat just as soon as seafood is opaque throughout

Topping for fish:

While the fish was cooking I mixed the following ingredients in a 4 cup measuring cup.

• 3 ripe roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 small can sliced olives
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder

I mixed all this together and topped the fish with the room temperature topping. If you prefer a warm topping you can saute all the ingredients in a pan, squeeze a little lemon at the end of cooking. 

I had planned risotto, but didn't really have the time to make it tonight so I made whole wheat couscous instead with garlic, fresh parmesan cheese and cracked pepper. Couscous is soo quick and easy and a great side grain, especially the whole wheat version.

I cut up some asparagus drizzled with olive oil, parmesan and cracked pepper then cooked it in the oven with the salmon.

This was a speedy, healthy and easy dinner. It was done in 25 minutes including prep time.