Weekend Dinner Recipes

Salmon with Brussels Sprouts with Ginger-Scallion Sauce

Serves 4

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice a 1 1/4 pound salmon fillet into 4-ounce pieces as shown above. Trim and halve 4 cups of brussels sprouts and in a bowl, toss them with 2 tablespoons of oil (olive or vegetable), salt and pepper. (Do your best to keep all the brussels leaves on the sprout, because those individual leaves burn fast when roasted.) Place sprouts on a foil-lined cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes, tossing half way through. (And don’t worry, they should look a little charred.) Turn heat to 450°F. Nestle salmon filets among the sprouts and roast another 10 minutes. Serve with ginger-scallion sauce.

Ginger-scallion sauce (adapted from Momofuku cookbook):

Combine the following in a small bowl: 1 large bunch scallions (green and white parts), chopped; 1 tablespoon finely minced peeled fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; a drop or two of fish sauce (optional) 2 tablespoons sherry or rice wine vinegar; a little chopped mint, a squeeze of Sriracha, salt and pepper to taste. Also, any moron can roast a chicken—I’m pretty sure that’s why it was one of the first recipes I ever posted on my blog. The hardest thing to do is remember to remove the little bag of giblets inside.

roast-chicken-weekend-cooking

Roast Chicken

Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 potatoes (Yukon Gold or red), cut into chunks
  • 1 small onion, chopped into chunks
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 whole roasting chicken, about 4 pounds
  • 1 lemon, pricked several times with a knife
  • 1 small bunch fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the potatoes, onion, and carrots in a baking dish. Toss with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the inside and outside of chicken under cold water and pat dry. Stuff the cavity with lemon and thyme and tie the legs together with butcher’s twine.

After the carrots and potatoes have roasted for 15 minutes, place the chicken, breast side up (see tip), on top of the vegetables. Brush the chicken skin with butter and season with salt and pepper. Continue roasting until the chicken is a golden brown and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a fork, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or 18 to 20 minutes per pound. Remove the chicken from the oven, carve, and serve with the vegetables.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Caramelized Onions, Spinach, and Parmesan

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • Few glugs of olive oil
  • 3 large onions, sliced
  • 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
  • Small handful of thawed frozen spinach or big
    handful of fresh spinach
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Lots of freshly
    grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Pour the oil into a skillet set over medium-low heat, and cook the onions, stirring every few minutes, for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 45 minutes. While the onions cook, prepare the spaghetti according to package directions. During the last minute of pasta cooking, add your spinach to the water. Drain the pasta and spinach together. Toss the spaghetti with a little olive oil. Stir the balsamic vinegar into the onions. Serve the pasta in bowls, then heap on the onions, spinach, and Parmesan cheese.