You Don't Have to be a Gourmet Chef to Cook Salmon

You don't have to be a gourmet chef in order to eat like one. More specifically, you don't have to be a chef at all in order to eat like on in college. Most students have placed salmon (and most fish) in a category that is so beyond them that they don't even want to think about cooking it. However, cooking salmon is not as scary as most people think. In today's blog I will walk you through cooking salmon for yourself in college.

Prepping the Salmon

Prep for the salmon takes less than 10 minutes. You are going to want to start with a 1 lbs (or whatever you can find that's closest) piece of salmon. You are going to want to cut this in half. One of the tricks of this meal is that I can always split it into two and sometimes three. Next up, we will need one whole lemon, a sprig of rosemary, one stick of butter, olive oil. salt, pepper, and some tin foil. Firstly, you will want to cut a large piece of tin foil for the salmon to cook in and drizzle it in olive oil. You can eyeball it or measure 1 tablespoon of oil. Next you will want to lay your salmon on top of the oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on top of the salmon. Again, you can eyeball the salt and pepper to whatever your preference is.

Next you will want to take your stick of butter and cut it into 6 even pieces. Take 3 of those pieces and lay them across the top of the salmon. Next you will want to cut your whole lemon into 6 even pieces. Same as the butter, lay 3 of those pieces on top of the salmon. Next you will want to take 1 sprig of rosemary and lay it on top. This step is optional. Does it add flavor to the salmon? Yes. But is it worth buying if it's too expensive at your local grocery store? No. If you can't find fresh rosemary or if it's too expensive you can omit it from the recipe. The last step is to wrap up the salmon tight in the foil. Now it's ready to throw into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 miniutes.

Sides

While salmon is great, it is even better with a nice side. Most people think that cooking something more elaborate like salmon means that you have to cook an elaborate side dish to go with it. This is not the case. Sides are usually the easiest part of making a nicer meal for yourself. I like to pair salmon with rice and veggies. I am using a brown rice/quinoa blend here that cooks in the microwave in 90 seconds. I am also using a mix of broccoli and cauliflower that steams in the bag in the microwave in 6 minutes. You can use something similar or prepare a different side entirely. The point is that your sides can be simple and fast AND delicious.

Bon Appetit

This meal was delicious! And what makes it better? It was about $10 total with a 10 minute prep time and 20 minute cook time. The price of this meal depends on when you shop for salmon. I found a pretty big cut for $6. The bag of rice was $1.50 and the bag of veggies was $2.00. The lemon was about $.50 and the price of rosemary can bump it up by a dollar depending on your preference. I was also able to split this meal into 3 so its $3.33 per meal :)