Is it just us or is everything out of Tieghan Gerard’s kitchen actually perfect? The award-winning food blogger’s brand new gift to the world, The Half Baked Harvest Cookbook, is a collection of all the cozy, whole food goodness we’ve come to love her for. And the salmon and root veggie recipe below is one of our favorite dishes from it’s pages. Scoop up the simple, one-pan recipe here, then check out Tieghan’s ‘In My Fridge’ feature for majorly motivating culinary inspo…
I have a confession: Doing the dishes is my worst nightmare. I do a lot of cooking, and when I cook, I always make a giant mess. I’m talking flour on the floor, dishes piled high and anything from cheese to cherries to chocolate smeared on my face. When I’m not cooking for the blog, I still need to eat dinner. On ‘computer’ days, I don’t want to make a mess, but I do want to eat something simple and healthy.
This one-pan salmon is the dinner I go for on those kind of nights. What I love about this recipe (other than the fact that cleanup is as easy as possible) is how versatile it is. In the summer, you can use fresh zucchini, bell peppers and corn; in the fall and winter, root vegetables; and in the spring, asparagus, peas and artichokes. The sage pesto is an awesome switch-up from the classic basil version, and I love how it pairs with the heartier root vegetables, but feel free to use basil in the warmer seasons. If you don’t love fish, use chicken breasts and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Baked Salmon + Root Vegetables With Sage Pesto
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 (5- to 6-oz) salmon fillets
3 small beets, halved
2 carrots, chopped
1 small to medium sweet potato, diced
12 baby potatoes, halved if larger
12 Brussels sprouts, halved
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sage pesto:
1 cup fresh sage leaves
1 cup baby kale
⅓ cup toasted pistachios
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt
crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup grated Manchego cheese
fresh lemon juice, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, baby potatoes and Brussels sprouts with olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are slightly tender.
Meanwhile, make the pesto. In a food processor, combine sage, kale and pistachios and pulse until finely chopped. Add Parmesan and pulse again. With the motor running, drizzle in olive oil. Season with salt and red pepper flakes.
Remove veggies from oven and push them to one side of pan. Put salmon on the other side. Rub a few tablespoons of sage pesto over each fillet.
Return pan to oven and roast for 10 to 20 minutes more, until salmon reaches desired doneness and veggies are soft. Remove pan from oven and top each fillet with some Manchego to melt.
If desired, squeeze a drop of lemon juice over salmon. Serve with roasted veggies and extra sage pesto alongside.
Reprinted from Half Baked Harvest Cookbook. Copyright © 2017 by Tieghan Gerard. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Love this recipe?
Check out this guide for seven simple ways to cook salmon.
