Salmon and leeks are a delicious combination that make for a fast, easy and healthy dinner!

Thank you to the nice lady at the grocery store who was wielding a leek like a baseball bat and ordering some salmon.

She said she steamed all of her stuff in some fancy store-bought contraption in the microwave, which didn’t sound particularly appealing to me, but the leek-salmon-soy sauce combo she mentioned did.

So I played around with it a bit and came up with today's recipe, which is simple and simply delicious.

Leeks, if you are unfamiliar, are related to onions and have a sweet, delicate flavor. Plus, they are pretty.

As a major bonus, leeks are very high in a type of fiber that our good-for-us gut bacteria love.

Good gut bacteria does amazing things for you. It's a fascinating emerging field of science (says the uber-nerd here who took a Coursera class all about it).

You know what? Just read this. Page 2 has the good info on leeks.

Now you want to eat leeks every week, right? Me, too.

The lady in the grocery store, who was not raised in the U.S., said too few people here use leeks. I wholeheartedly agreed. Even my little one J, in the shopping cart, saw our discussion and started nodding his head (a new discovery - and a fun departure from just shaking and “no”) and said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Thanks for the support, buddy.

So here’s a simple introduction to leeks, paired with some gorgeous wild-caught salmon. Talk about a serious superfood pairing!

OK, a few quick notes about this salmon and leeks recipe.

(You can scroll down to the recipe card if you'd rather. It's at the bottom of the post, just above the comments section.)

Recipe Notes:

• Salmon: In most areas of the US, you need to buy your salmon on the day you plan to use it. It does not keep for long. I plan for this and cook salmon on days when I know I’ll be grocery shopping. Or I use frozen wild-caught Alaskan salmon. It’s frozen right after it’s caught and cleaned, so it’s as fresh as you can get, apart from cozying up to a fisherman as he docks his boat.
• Leeks: Leeks need to be carefully cleaned to get the dirt out of the inner layers. See the instructions below and the photos above for the stages of this.
• Yield: This recipe is written to serve two, but you can certainly double the recipe if needed.
• Serving: This salmon dish pairs great with rice and your favorite veggie. And a glass of wine.
• Leftovers: This is best served as soon as it's made. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Here it's served here with my perfect brown rice and steamed asparagus.

If you’re lucky, the sauce from the salmon and the leeks will run all over your plate and make for some extra tasty rice and asparagus. Hint, hint: Make this happen.

Oh and basmati brown rice is also divine with this. As is roasted asparagus instead of steamed. Just put it in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper and it cooks in about the same time as the fish.

Or sub in some green beans or broccoli or another favorite vegetable. This is a pretty versatile dish for pairing.

Do your gut microbiome a favor and try out some salmon and leeks soon.

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. Have you tried leeks? What's your favorite way to prepare them? Leave me a comment below - I'm always looking for new ideas!

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Yield: 2 servings

Salmon and Leeks

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Salmon and leeks is a great combination and makes for an easy, fast and healthy dinner!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the salmon:

• 2 (6-oz) pieces of wild-caught salmon
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the leeks:

• 1 large leek
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Instructions

Prepare salmon:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Rinse salmon and pat it dry. Place in prepared baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake at 450 for 10-14 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your salmon.

Meanwhile, prepare leeks:

1. Wash leeks, remove outer layer, trim ends and slice into small circles, using white and light green parts only. (See pictures in the post above.) Put circles in a bowl of cold water and toss them around to release any extra dirt in the folds. Drain leeks and rinse again to remove any last stubborn bits of dirt.
2. Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat.
3. Add leaks and season with salt and pepper. Sauté leeks for 2-3 minutes, until just softened. Add sesame oil and turn off heat.

To serve:

1. Place leeks on plate and top with cooked salmon. Drizzle 1 teaspoon soy sauce on each piece of salmon. Add an extra splash if you like. I always do. Enjoy!

Notes

Salmon: In most areas of the US, you need to buy your salmon on the day you plan to use it. It does not keep for long. I plan for this and cook salmon on days when I know I’ll be grocery shopping. Or I use frozen wild-caught Alaskan salmon. It’s frozen right after it’s caught and cleaned, so it’s as fresh as you can get, apart from cozying up to a fisherman as he docks his boat.

Leeks: Leeks need to be carefully cleaned to get the dirt out of the inner layers. See the instructions below and the photos above for the stages of this.

Yield: This recipe is written to serve two, but you can certainly double the recipe if needed.

Serving: This salmon dish pairs great with rice and your favorite veggie. And a glass of wine. 😉

Leftovers: This is best served as soon as it's made. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 317Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 682mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 26g