strawberry balsamic glazed salmon

I’ve been really disappointed with my Pinterest finds lately. I mean, the recipes that I end up making are ok – perfectly edible, but just missing something. I guess I have high expectations, but to be honest, I was beginning to lose faith in my beloved Pinterest.

Then, this little salmon gem popped up on my feed. I paired that bad boy with a Paleo green bean recipe I saw on a blog, and instantly all was right with the world. Best part? Pretty freakin easy!

So I’m gonna break it down into the salmon and the beans, obviously they can and should be going together at the same time, but everyone has a different kitchen multitasking comfort level, and as long as your prep is completed before the stove turns on, you should be good to go.

So, ROASTED SALMON WITH STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC GLAZE!

For the glaze, you will need:

- About one cup of strawberries, chopped
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp honey

And same salt, pepper, and 2 salmon fillets. Or, like me, you can buy a big one and do a complete hack job breaking it down into two pieces. Its cool – I only left about a third of the bottom of one side attached to the skin.

So get out a decent sized sauce pan, and bring the vinegar, water and berries to a boil. Let that simmer and reduce by half. I honestly was running around the kitchen a bit like a mad woman last night (because my almost 8 month old puppy has decided to start peeing everywhere), so I’m at a loss for an exact time. Errrr 7ish minutes? Whatever.






Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400. Put the fillets on a foil lined baking sheet, salt and pepper em, and stick em in the over for 10-15 mins. I think mine got 12.

Once the glaze has reduced, add the honey. Reduce some more. Maybe another 4-5 minutes on the stove.






At this point, you can either mash the mixture up manually, or be lazy like me, and puree it in your Magic Bullet. Your choice. When the salmon is ready to serve, drizzle the yummy sticky goodness all over those bad boys.

Now, the green beans. Specifically, COCONUT-ALMOND GREEN BEANS. You like the caps thing I’m doing?

For the beans, you will need:

- Green beans (duh) – however many you plan to eat, I guess I made like 2-3 handfuls worth? Very scientific, I know, but yeah, trim them before hand
- ½ cup coconut milk
- Slivered almonds (about a tbsp)
- 1/3 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
- Lime juice






Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the almonds for a few minutes, watching them closely. Remove once they start to brown. In the same pan, sauté the onions, garlic, cumin, coriander and paprika (and red pepper if you're adding it) for about 4-5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and starting to barelyyyyy brown. As for the amount of spices, I dunno, do it to taste. I did about 2-3 wrist flicks from each container. I’m uber helpful, I know.






Add the coconut milk and the green beans and make sure everything is thoroughly mixed. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover the pan and let cook for 6-8 mins, depending on how crunchy you like your beans. Remove the cover, and let the mixture cook down a bit more, about 1-2 mins. Remove from heat, stir in the almonds and couple of squirts of lime juice.

Now, you can plate everything all pretty and stuff or just dump it on the plate. I went with a mixture of the two. I did garnish the salmon with some chopped strawberries, though. They were a nice touch and added some freshness to the dish.






Enjoy!