Salmon with Mustard Rosemary Glaze

Though I love to cook and am always up for trying out new recipes, I’ve realized that I generally gravitate towards pasta, risotto, and dessert. While I don’t think you can ever have enough of any of these, I do admit that this tendency has left me slightly unbalanced as a cook – my repertoire of secondi (“second course” dishes) is small, and the secondi that I know are made with meat instead of fish. Though I think I’m a pretty good cook, seafood tends to be my culinary Achilles heel –  I can count on one hand the times I’ve made it at home, and even then it is usually something simple like sautéed shrimp, which is then served over pasta. I very rarely order fish or seafood in restaurants, and we didn’t eat much of it at home when I was growing up. Besides, I’d always assumed fish was something that people on a diet had to eat, a bland dish in desperate need of a lemon wedge on the side or some butter and breadcrumbs to spruce it up. 

Seeing as how one of my resolutions this New Year was to step out of my culinary comfort zone and prepare dishes I wouldn’t normally think of making, I decided to try out this recipe for salmon. Besides the fact that it was extremely simple to make – just a matter of stirring together the glaze ingredients and baking the salmon in the oven – I’m pleased to say that it was every bit as satisfying and filling as my usual primo, not to mention a bit lighter and more nutritious.

The glaze is absolutely delicious (I happen to love rosemary) not to mention it is a good option for those of you still trying to keep up your New Year’s resolution to eat better . I served this with sautéed spinach, but roast potatoes, arugula, or broccoli would be good too. Enjoy!

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SALMON WITH MUSTARD ROSEMARY GLAZE

Recipe from www.foodnetwork.com (Giada Di Laurentiis) Serves 6. 

Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 3/4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves 
1 tablespoon white wine 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard 
6 (6 ounce, or 168 grams each) salmon fillets

Directions: 
In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for the salmon to make the mustard glaze. Set aside. Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease the foil lightly with olive oil. Put the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Broil the salmon for 2 minutes. 

Spoon the mustard glaze over the fillets and continue broiling until the fillets are just cooked through and golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the fillets to plates and serve immediately.