This healthy and nutritious meal is a safe bet for any occasion from  weekday dinner to a classy Saturday night dinner party. In my case it was for a semi-classy-weekday-dinner-party when a dear friend visiting from Vienna popped by to see me.

I opted for salmon with a selection of three different side dishes and decided to skip starters altogether to avoid overeating in the evening (and for that matter, overworking myself).

This meal was quick and easy to prepare and that’s how I did it:

SALMON STEAK

You will need:
4 salmon steaks
1/2 bunch of curled leaf parsley
1 lemon

Season your salmon steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and if you wish, brush it with a little bit of oil. I used some low calorie cooking spray which I sprayed directly on the baking paper (saves you scrubbing the roasting tin afterwards). Sprinkle with some fresh parsley – I like the curly leaf one,  its prettier – and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your steaks. Keep in mind that wild salmon cooks even quicker than farmed one so start checking after 10 minutes if using wild. Garnish with a fresh cut lemon wedge and more fresh parsley. Et voilà!

GREEN BEANS WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

You will need:
500g pack green beans
1 medium white onion
200-300g packs shiitake mushrooms

I think this is a much more interesting way to enjoy green beans than steamed or boiled (SO boring!). Finely chop the onion, trim your beans and cut them in halves, slice the mushrooms.  First, fry the onions until they start to turn golden – I like using coconut oil when I want to keep it light. Then add the beans and stir-fry for a few more minutes before adding the mushrooms and frying everything together, stirring frequently, until tender. I like my beans crunchy, so I turn off the heat when they are still quite al-dente. Season to taste.

RAW COURGETTE SALAD WITH PINE NUTS & PARMIGIANO

You will need:
2 large courgettes
1 handful pine nuts
1 handful grated parmigiano

Toast the pine nuts for a few minutes in a small non-stick pan without oil, stirring frequently. Don’t walk away as they burn very quickly! Using a vegetable slicer shave off the courgettes into nice, long, millimeter thin strips (see photo above). Add toasted pine nuts, grated parmigiano, mix through lightly and dress with good extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste and serve immediately.

BOILED BABY POTATOES

Not much to say here: boil baby potatoes, add some butter shavings if desired, grind some rock sea salt over the top, garnish with something pretty. Done.

In fact, I also stir-fried some samphire to garnish the salmon (click on the word if you don’t know what it is), but completely forgot about it and only re-discovered it in its pan long after dinner, looking very sad (therefore no photos).

I will spare you the lecture on the health benefits of this meal, but I am sure you see that it is packed with vitamins and other things that are good for you. Not just healthy, but also light and delicious, this dinner will keep even the biggest carnivore happy for the evening – trust me, I know what I am talking about. 🙂

WINE PAIRING: a classic recommendation would be a creamy Chardonnay to match the weight of the oily fish. Alternatively a light bodied red would also do the job, e.g. Pinot Noir or Gamay.

Because I am not a big lover of Chardonnay, I offered my guests a choice between Triade Bianco, a blend of Italian varieties Falanghina, Fiano and Greco for white; and a Bouchard Père et Fils Beaujolais from Fleurie, Burgundy, for red. Both wines complemented the meal very nicely without overpowering its rather delicate flavors.

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