Salmon Tray Bake
Simple tray bakes are the best quick meal hack for any parent: put everything on a tray and bake it... Easy.
Salmon works brilliantly: it roasts beautifully and holds up well to a variety of vegetables: use whatever vegetables your family likes. In general add a starchy carbohydrate; such as, sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash and pumpkin to make the dish filling. Also a selection of 1-2 vegetables: asparagus, fennel, broccoli, or Brussel sprouts halved, all work well. It makes the tray bake a complete meal: saving time, prep, cooking and most importantly washing up!
I have included 2 of my favourite versions below, but customise any of the vegetables as you would like to, generally roasting green vegetables can bring out their more bitter notes and this may not be your preference. The only rule is to consider the cooking time for each ingredient you use and prep accordingly. This will even out cooking times.
Serves 4 adults, or 6-8 children depending on appetite
Pesto Salmon Tray Bake
4 salmon fillets (500g approx)
1 small butternut squash (600g approx) peeled, de-seeded and cubed
1/2 head of broccoli, cut into 4 large wedges (I include the stalk)
60g breadcrumbs
4 teaspoons pesto (100g approx)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
black pepper, freshly ground to season
Serve with a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs:
dill, parsley, mint, or basil for example
& wedges of fresh lemon
Pesto Salmon Tray Bake ~
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven) and prep the vegetables: wash, trim and cut to size depending on cooking time.
Next, take a lined baking tray. In a bowl toss the prepped ingredients with olive oil, until lightly coated in the oil, lightly season with a little black pepper (if using). I do this for each vegetable, you will use less oil overall and the vegetables will be evenly coated.
Then layer the tray bake: place the four salmon fillets, skin side down and top with the pesto crumb.* Then scatter the butternut squash around the salmon pieces and place in the oven. Cook for 30 mins, or until the fish fillets are completely cooked through and the vegetable are beautifully roasted. Halfway through cooking I scatter over the broccoli, lightly coated in oil and cook for the remainign 15 mins. The broccoli doesn’t need as long in the oven. Once everything is nicely cooked through, remove from the oven.
I dish up the fish and vegetables on a big platter; I also remove the salmon skins and discard them. Scatter with fresh herbs and serve with fresh lemon wedges.
*For the pesto crumb ~
Combine the breadcrumbs and pesto in a small bowl, until you have a fragrant green breadcrumb “paste”
Top each salmon fillet with a tablespoon of the mix, pressing the mix down onto the flesh of the salmon fillet, trying not to scatter breadcrumbs onto the tray
~~~
Summer Salmon Tray Bake
Ingredients ~
4 salmon fillets (500g approx)
1 bulb of fennel, wash, trim and cut into wedges
1 bunch of asparagus, wash and trim
handful of cherry tomatoes, wash
2 red peppers, wash, de-seed, cut into large pieces
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
black pepper, freshly ground to season
fresh thyme leaves
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven) and prep the vegetables: wash, trim and cut to size depending on cooking time.
Next, take a lined baking tray. In a bowl toss the prepped ingredients with olive oil until lightly coated and season with a little black pepper (if using). I do this for each vegetable; I find I use less oil overall and the vegetables are then all evenly coated. Next layer the tray bake: place the four salmon fillets, skin side down, on a lined baking sheet. Scatter the fennel pieces around them, followed by the asparagus, peppers and cherry tomatoes. Then scatter with the thyme and drizzle a little olive oil onto each salmon fillet.
Cook in the oven for 30 mins, or until the fish is cooked through and the vegetable are beautifully roasted. Remove from the oven, to slightly cool: then serve on a platter (remove and discard the fish skin) and serve with fresh lemon wedges.