The dish. Grilled salmon with lemon and herbs is a restaurant staple because it is hard to get wrong. This version keeps it simple: a garlic, lemon, and dill rub, a hot grill or pan, and quinoa with green vegetables underneath to catch the juices. Part of The DASH Diet, Put on the Plate.

Serves 4. About 30 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 4 salmon fillets, skin on or off
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus extra wedges to serve
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • Black pepper
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups water
  • 300 g green beans, trimmed
  • 2 cups broccoli florets

Method

  1. Cook the quinoa first. Combine the rinsed quinoa and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Rest, covered, for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and stir in half the lemon zest.
  2. Pat the salmon dry. Mix the olive oil, garlic, remaining lemon zest, half the lemon juice, dill, and thyme, and rub it over the fillets with black pepper. Let it sit while the quinoa cooks.
  3. Steam or saute the green beans and broccoli for 5 to 6 minutes, until bright and just tender.
  4. Grill or pan sear the salmon over medium high heat, 4 to 5 minutes per side, until just opaque in the center. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the fish.
  5. Serve the salmon over the quinoa with the vegetables alongside and lemon wedges on the plate.

DASH note. Fish twice a week is squarely inside the DASH pattern, and quinoa counts as a whole grain. The lemon, garlic, and dill do the seasoning work, so the dish needs no added salt to taste finished.