Fresh filet is the ultimate fast food – it cooks in just 10 minutes (per inch of thickness), with plenty of room on the baking sheet for veggies. Experiment with green beans, sliced zucchini or whatever your family likes. All you need is 10 minutes to simmer some puckeringly delicious lemon curd, then spoon into store-bought tart shells for a simple yet impressive dessert.

Salmon & Veggies:

1 1/2 lb (750 g) salmon or steelhead trout filet or filets
1/2 bunch asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground salt and pepper

Lemon Tarts:

8 frozen tart shells
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) butter, cut into pieces
blackberries or raspberries

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Place the salmon filets on a large, rimmed, parchment-lined baking sheet and scatter the asparagus and tomatoes around it. Drizzle everything with olive oil and toss the vegetables with your hands to coat; spread it over the surface of the salmon with your fi ngers. Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes, until the edge of the fish flakes with a fork, but the fish is still moist in the middle.

Put the tart shells on another baking sheet and if there’s room, slide it in alongside.

Otherwise, put them into the oven when the salmon comes out, turning the temperature down slightly to about 375°F. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.

While the fish and pastry shells are baking, make the lemon curd. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Set over medium heat and cook, whisking often, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Set aside to cool. If you like, pour it through a sieve while still warm to get rid of any lumps. Pour into the tart shells and top with a berry.

Serve the roasted salmon alongside the veggies, with a lemon tart (or two) for dessert. Serves 4.

Per serving: 556 calories, 26.6 g fat (8.3 g saturated fat, 11.3 g monounsaturated fat, 7 g polyunsaturated fat), 228 mg cholesterol, 25.7 g carbohydrate, 47.3 g protein, 3 g fibre.

 

Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, June 2015.