So Many Dishes

When I started this blog, I thought I would continue with the schedule I used for the virtual dining newsletter that I was involved with during the pandemic lockdown and beyond. That meant emails twice a week; Monday was a recap of how everyone had chosen to eat to that week’s theme and setting the new theme, while Thursday’s email was a reminder and a recipe.

Now, I’m definitely posting more than twice, with more recipes, too. This is post includes a recipe that I made a week ago, but I’ve been so busy that I’m just getting around to it now.

One of my absolute favorite sources for recipes is The Mediterranean Dish, the blog/website of Suzy Karadsheh. Between recipes I’ve downloaded from her website and now her two cookbooks, I have never made any of her dishes that wasn’t wonderful. Her fish recipes are especially good.

Foil-baked salmon with cherry tomatoes, olives, and thyme is a dish that I’ve made numerous times. It’s quick and easy to prepare, and it’s beautifully elegant. It could definitely be a company dish. Because it’s baked in a parchment and foil packet, it’s easy clean up, which is always a plus in my book.

It’s a simple matter to mix the topping ingredients and spread them over the fish, then seal the foil packet and bake.

My biggest issue with this dish is getting the fish cooked. Every time I make it, it needs a longer cooking time than what the recipe indicates. I’ll pull it from the oven, and it still looks uncooked in the middle. As I’ve said before, my oven doesn’t hold temperature very well, so I’m not sure if this is the cause of it being undercooked, or if at least part of the issue is that we like salmon more well done than some people. I know that an internal temperature of 145 is considered cooked for salmon, and, typing this, I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever stuck my thermometer into the fish.

I don’t really mess with this recipe, except to cut it in half, which is very easy to do.

Foil-Baked Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Thyme

• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pitted olives, halved(I use kalamata)
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salmon fillet, 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, skin removed
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil to hang over the edges on all sides. Top the foil with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, shallot, garlic, thyme, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with the olive oil, then toss to combine.

Season the salmon with some salt and pepper on both sides and place in the middle of the pan. Drizzle the lemon juice all over the salmon and spoon the tomato and olive mixture on top. Take another large piece of foil and tent it over the salmon. Go around the edges to fold them shut, making a parcel to enclose the salmon.

Bake the salmon on the middle rack of the oven until almost completely cooked, 15 to 20 minutes.

Carefully remove the top piece of foil, then turn the oven to broil. Return the salmon to the oven, this time placing it on top rack directly under the broiler (4 to 5 inches), for 2 to 3 minutes, watching for some color and for some of the tomatoes to burst. Check the salmon for doneness. Serves 4 to 6.

When I stopped at the market for the fish, I picked up a loaf of a crusty rustic Italian bread. That and some steamed broccoli seasoned with lemon pepper made for a delicious and stress-free dinner.

Happy eating!