Quick. Easy. Delicious. Nutritious. These are four words that I say and remind myself of on a regular basis when I am creating recipes to share. Of course there are times when I like to play and spend more time in the kitchen, and, there are also the times that I like to do a bit of prep and then let something cook long and slow. But, most of the time it’s quick, easy, delicious and nutritious.

This salmon is called “baked” because it will have a slightly browned and more dry exterior when cooked. We are going to use our Combination Steam function here which will give us that baked finish, whilst of course still keeping things nice and moist on the inside and also, helping to cook things through a little more quickly than a traditional oven. If we were to just use our Steam only function here, we would end up with a completely soft and moist result, which actually would also work but, for me, may not have as much flavour and texture - particularly on the veggies. I like my spuds and things like capsicum and zucchini to have more of a toasty, roasty flavour to them.

Fish can be a funny one for home cooks I find. In my experience in teaching people to cook it’s often a really daunting thing for people to cook fish in their home kitchen. Many of my students have told me in the past that they are nervous about under-cooking it, which is funny because usually I find the opposite happens. It’s like reverse psychology - the more you worry about under-cooking it, the more likely you are to over compensate and actually overcook it. The good news for fearful fish cooks is that with the benefit of steam you are even less likely to ever have to worry about under-cooking fish and, if you do overcook it, it will still stay moist. It’s a win win and another reason to love a CombiSteam!

With the fish, we are also going to “bake” some veggies so that everything can be done in one oven at the same time. It makes it an incredibly easy dish to cook because the only thing to worry about are the stages or timings at which you add the next ingredient. We are going to start with the spuds because they are the most dense and hard veggie and will therefore take the longest to cook. The rules of cooking still apply when you use a CombiSteam oven - just as they would if you were cooking veggies in a pot of water or a regular oven. Start with the item that takes the longest and add the rest from there. Test things, touch things, smell things and open the door and look at things as they go. Keep control of what is going on. If something doesn’t feel or look or smell ready, it probably isn’t. Trust your gut! There is really no such thing as an exact cooking time, even with a recipe. It may be that the particular potatoes you chose are harder than normal and will take a bit longer or you happen to like things a little browner or softer or more well done. Tweak and twist to suit yourself. I am really just here to provide a starting point, some inspiration and hopefully confidence. Now get to it!

Serves 4 (but more fish and veggies can be added without affecting the cooking time as a whole)

Ingredients:
4 salmon fillets (around 150g each, skinless)
1 head broccoli (cut into small florets)
8 chat potatoes (halved)
1 small capsicum (deseeded) - sliced into 2cm wide strips
1 small zucchini (cut into thirds lengthways then into wedges)
12 cherry or mini roma tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Add the potatoes. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place tray into the bottom shelf of the CombiSteam. Select Combination Steam (Hot Air+Steaming). Set the temperature to 200°C. For variable Steam set 30%. Cook for 15 minutes.

2. Line a second tray with baking paper. Lay the salmon onto the tray leaving space between each fillet. Season with a little salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.

3. After 15 minutes check the potatoes. They should be tender when pierced with a sharp knife. If not, continue cooking until tender, checking every few minutes.

4. Once the potatoes are tender remove the tray from the oven. Add the other vegetables with the potatoes. Sprinkle over the oregano, paprika and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the honey and balsamic. Toss gently to combine and return to the oven.

5. Add the salmon tray to the top shelf of the oven.

6. Cook the veggies and salmon for 10 minutes.

7. Remove and gently push a knife into the centre of the salmon, it should just flake apart. (If not continue to cook for a few more minutes.) Remove the salmon from the oven and set aside to rest for a few minutes. Leave the veggies in the oven (but turn it off) to stay warm while the fish rests.

8. Serve the salmon with the veggies.

This is a great midweek meal that doesn’t require much preparation. I like it for those times when I have had a chance to shop and get everything I need and I know I will have enough time to do a little cooking when I get home but nothing too time consuming or strenuous. It’s in between a make ahead/reheat meal and a full on cook-a-thon. It’s also good to keep some portions of salmon in the freezer as a quick go to - you can defrost easily using your Steam function. Find out more about that with my Instructions here.

Give it a whirl and see how you go. A bit of lemon juice is quite nice squeezed over at the end - but then I love lemon so it could just be a personal thing.

Don’t forget to pop into the Facebook palace - I’m trying to keep you inspired and eating well there too, whilst we are all staying home and staying well!

Happy Combi-Steaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x