Salmon with Tomato Sauce and Capers

Hey, guys. Whitney has asked me to post a recipe for you and I gladly agreed "to feed you" this salmon with tomato sauce and capers, or green olives (whichever you fancy or have on hand - my recipes are very flexible), tonight for dinner. My name is Olena and I blog at ifoodreal.com. I share delicious clean eating recipes, with simple ingredients, that my kids will eat. I grew up in Ukraine and now live in beautiful rainy Vancouver, BC, so all my recipes have a European poor people flavour aka made with what you have on hand. No brown rice flour or arrowroot starch. As much as they may be awesome ingredients, ain't nobody got time for that with a house full of noisy kids, never ending laundry and meals to make. I'm living a dream, in fact. It is, what it is.

My husband loves fishing and living on the ocean it is a sin not to fish if you are a man (sorry not sorry). This past fall he caught a spring salmon with white flesh, apparently it is a real thing. And this is the salmon I used in a recipe, but any red flesh salmon would work except farmed salmon. Whatever you do please stay away from farmed salmon, just like from Vietnam fish. Buy cheaper North American pink salmon or trout if you have to, it will work.

In Ukraine, we always pan fried meat and fish coated in flour. Not that that method back then didn't involve a lot of oil (because no non-stick skillets) and a lot of white flour, but that is easily fixed. I honestly do not see whole wheat flour (preferably organic if you can) as a culprit to our nation's deteriorating health, rather processed foods, over consumption of animal products and sugar. Delicate salmon fillets coated in a light coat of whole wheat flour give fish a depth of flavour and help lock in its juices. Then everything gets coated in flavourful tomato sauce layered with pickled capers or green olives. Simmer and voila - salmon in tomato sauce with capers is ready for dinner in 30 minutes (if you are fast like me because you are a mom). Serve with quinoa and brown rice on a side. Oh, and I use ceramic coated non-stick skillet - they say it is less toxic tax Teflon coated one. Who knows?!

Hope you enjoyed this simple easy dinner recipe and you can find more on my clean eating recipes blog.

ngredients:

2 lbs salmon, cut into 1.5” long slices
2 tbsp avocado or coconut oil
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt, divided
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
3 oz (1/2 small can) tomato paste
1 tbsp coriander, ground
1 tbsp cumin
1 small garlic clove, grated
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper, to taste
Jar of capers, drained or 3/4 cup green olives, pitted & sliced
Parsley, finely chopped (for garnish)

Directions:

1. On a large plate, add flour, 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper to taste; mix with a fork.

2. Preheat large deep non-stick skillet on medium heat and swirl 1 tbsp of oil to coat. Dip each salmon slice into flour mixture making sure both sides are coated, add to the skillet and repeat until skillet is full. Cook for a few minutes or until brown, flip and cook for a few more minutes. Repeat this step with remaining half of salmon transferring cooked fish on a large plate. Discard any leftover flour mixture.

3. While fish is cooking, in a medium bowl mix to combine diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste, coriander, cumin, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper.

4. Now it is time to layer the fish. Arrange half of the salmon pieces in a single layer on the bottom of previously used skillet, top with half of capers/olives and topped with half of tomato mixture. Repeat layer, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.

5. Serve hot garnished with parsley and quinoa/brown rice on a side.

Storage Instructions: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Whitney here! I can't remember exactly how I found Olena's website but I loved it when I did! I was attracted to her because she has the same attitude as I do regarding online fitness, social media, etc. You must read this post she wrote on how she stopped being afraid to eat. Also, connect with her on social media!

Featured