Salmon Pockets

On a weekday night when you are really tired and still want to cook something healthy and delicious, I would highly recommend this dish.

In my family, both my husband and my son love Italian flavors.  I cook weekly at least twice something Italian just to make them happy. I can proudly say that my Italian dishes come out really good and my son prefers them over any restaurant cooking.

I think Italian dishes are not only easy to prepare, but they pack a lot of flavors and there are a lot of healthy dishes. I love watching “Giada’s – Everyday Italian” in Food Network. Her recipes are mostly simple, healthy and needs just a few ingredients that I always have in my pantry. I had tried lot of her recipes with just some little changes to suit our pallets and they definitely impress me and my family. This is one such recipe I got from watching her show. I made few changes to her original recipe. These “Salmon pockets” pack a lot of flavors and they are simple to make.

Salmon I considered being one of the healthiest fish due to its high protein content, high omega-s fatty acids and high vitamin D content. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish) at least two times (two servings) a week. And so we try to include fish in our diet at least once a week.

 

Recipe

Ingredients

3 (6 ounces each) salmon fillets

1 tablespoon of olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3 tomatoes chopped

3 chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix together the chopped tomatoes, shallots, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper powder and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl to blend. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, to enhance the flavor.

Place a salmon fillet, atop a sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely. Then seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve them hot.

-- Sang V