It’s Autumn. Officially Pumpkin season. However… it has also been abnormally warm. So rather than feeling the Fall chill in the air and warming up with some comfort food, this recipe does just the trick of keeping a dinner meal in season with pumpkin seeds but also being a lighter-but-filling meal after a long warm day. Here’s a look, I’ve paired it will sautéed kale, garlic-scapes and broccoli below.
We have a local market where I can pick up some great cuts of many different types of fish, including Salmon. But this is where it’s important to know what kind of salmon is best and healthiest to buy.
Beautiful display. I know they get their fish straight from the fish market in NYC. Notice some of the salmon is labeled Organic. Others simply have the location of where they are from; not one has “wild caught”. This means that salmon is more than likely farm-raised. It’s even more than likely to be farm raised if the salmon location is in the Atlantic, thus the “Irish” or “Norwegian” is most likely farm-raised. Regarding the organic, there is no USDA organic standard for salmon. So the “organic” label can really mean the fish is fed organic material, but still the salmon was farmed. So what? Farm-raised is bad? Well, yes. Look at the graphic below:
And you can see the difference side-by-side:
The above graphics were found at Biggies Boxers. Very interesting and informative article… while selling you boxers! LOL. Another great article found here at Eating Well offering an understanding of the difference between farm-raised and wild caught. Look at the difference in the color of the salmon in the pic above! The healthier wild-caught salmon is a beautiful rich color! From the Eating Well article:
Ever wonder why salmon flesh is orange? Thank carotenoids, the same pigments that make carrots orange. Those magical antioxidants combat the damaging effects of free radicals. The carotenoid in salmon is a particularly potent antioxidant known as astaxanthin, which has been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammation, eye diseases, general aging and many other conditions. Astaxanthin is produced by phytoplankton, tiny plants that use it to shield themselves from ultraviolet radiation. Shrimp, krill and other tiny crustaceans then eat the phytoplankton and accumulate astaxanthin in their bodies (which is what makes them pink), and then salmon eat them and store the astaxanthin in their skin and muscles. Sockeye, coho and king salmon have the deepest color orange whereas pink and chum salmon (most often canned) are the lightest. Many farmed Atlantic salmon are given feed with astaxanthin and, in some instances, a manufactured pigment called canthaxanthin, to turn their flesh orange.
It makes a difference, just as it does with 100% grass-fed cows, with what the actual fish, the salmon in this case, is eating. Basically, salmon should live in the wild! Wild caught is the more natural and the healthiest salmon you can eat! Salmon raised in farms are confined to limited space and are most likely treated with antibiotics. Plus, although they’re in a pen, they are still able to spread diseases to wild fish nearby, which is putting the healthier wild fish at risk! Farm-raised salmon in crowded pens can allow infestation of lice (really, fish can get lice!?).
So, instead of purchasing the “pretty” salmon on display with the fancy wording of “Norwegian” or “Irish” I search for wild-caught Alaskan. Alaskan has no farm-raised Salmon. And although this is not as fresh as when I was in Alaska seeing fishermen and women having the luxury of eating their wild-caught salmon minutes after they reeled it in, it’s still great, being flash-frozen. I have subscribed to having salmon and Alaskan
halibut delivered, freshly caught and flash-frozen, from Sena Seas.
More so it has the MSC label.
Now we know where our Salmon is coming from and that it’s the healthiest we could find, on to making it a really powerful dinner. For a side item or to even be chopped up and used in the topping, I had some garlic scapes, picked right from a local orchard!
And fresh parsley, picked right from my own garden. You won’t need this much, perhaps just a fourth of this chopped up.
All together you’ll need the wild caught sockeye salmon, parsley, garlic (which I bought at Blooming Hill Farm, my favorite local organic farm!), and hulled pumpkin seeds (hulled meaning no shell)! I bought some from a farmer’s market in town!
I used to sprinkle this Salmon Magic onto the entire Salmon, but now I only do a portion of it as my kids do like the flavor it adds. But… it contains sugar. So instead, if I want the flavor I’ll do my own mix of the same; onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and mustard.
The topping adds the power punch to the already healthy salmon:
And the pumpkin seeds are amazingly healthy! Look at some 10 health benefits they contribute! I mean, if you’re worried about getting an intestinal worm, pumpkin seeds can help with that! Honestly though, they naturally rid the body of toxins! And pack some protein to your meals or snacks!
And as for the garlic, not just for keeping vampires away!
So chop the power parsley, protein-parasite killing pumpkin seeds and cancer-preventing garlic together. Then add some squeezed lemon juice. I used about 1/4 a bunch of parsley for 1 pound of salmon. Not too much as it can over power your salmon!
Spread across the top of the salmon placed on a cooking sheet.
You can also puree it in a blender or food processor for more of a “crust-like” topping. Here I’ve also added some flax seed!
Bake in oven at 395F for about 12 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. Most of my Sockeye is rather thin but some have been slightly thicker. Serve with some freshly made sides and your Autumn dinner is a powerful punch of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants that is gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free and paleo! You’re very much nutritiously well-fed with this warm Autumn dinner!
| Servings |
|
- 1 lb Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon
- 1/4 bunch cup fresh parsley chopped. Be sure to not use too much!
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced or chopped
- 1/4-1/2 cup pumpkin seeds hulled
- 1 tbsp flax seeds optional
- 1 lemon lemon juice squeezed
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 395F
- Place Salmon on Cooking sheet lined with foil if prefer.
- Chop up all ingredients or place in blender/food processor.
- spread on top salmon.
- Place in oven for 10 - 12 minutes uncovered so toppings roast and become slightly brown. If they do not cook as well as like, you can turn broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute when salmon is almost done to allow for a more crispier cooked topping.