Honey Orange Glazed Salmon with Orange Almond Couscous

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that putting a healthy dinner on the table doesn’t have to be intimidating or time consuming.  I LOVE cooking. But even a hard-core foodie like me doesn’t like complicated recipes. Maybe I will when my kids are grown and I have oodles of time on my hands (does that ever happen?), but at this point I need recipes that are quick to throw together and are packed with nutrition and flavours that the whole family will love! I created this salmon dish with exactly that in mind.

I partnered with The Florida Department of Citrus to create this dish brimming with fresh flavours with a hint of sweetness: even the kids ate second helpings!  I’ve served salmon a gazillion ways, but I’m in love with how simple this dish was to pull together using as a base: it turned out to be a PERFECT match for the salmon.

I keep Florida Orange Juice in the fridge for adding to smoothies and making chia pudding (check out my latest chia pudding crush that tastes like pure heaven here), but since creating this recipe I’ve made it a goal to use it more often in savoury dishes like this one.  I love it when I find new ways to use my kitchen staples! Florida Orange Juice is also loaded with vitamin C, potassium and folate for that extra nutrition boost with no added sugar.

I chose couscous for this dish because it is SO easy to make and takes mere minutes to cook. You can buy pre-frozen wild salmon filets and keep them in the freezer to make healthy eating even easier and more convenient (a key to healthy eating).  I cook this dish for busy weeknights but between you and I, it’s nice enough to impress your next dinner party guests and nobody needs to know how easy it was!

Serves 4-6

 

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Florida Orange Juice
• 5 lb whole wild salmon fillet*
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 3 slices fresh ginger root
• 1 1/3 c. whole wheat couscous
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 c. lightly packed arugula or baby spinach
• ¼ c. sliced green onion (2-3 onions)
• ½ c. toasted sliced almonds

*you can purchase the same weight in pre-portioned filets if you choose

 

Dressing Ingredients:

• ½ c. Florida Orange Juice
• ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Prepare the salmon by removing the skin and bones if attached and cutting the salmon into 4-6 individual filets. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Whisk together all of the salad dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and set it aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the 1 cup of orange juice, honey and ginger root and bring it to a simmer: reduce by half, remove the ginger, and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the couscous and olive oil, stir, remove from the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and set aside to cool in a large bowl.
5. Once cooled, add the arugula, green onion, and almonds. Toss the salad with the dressing.
6. Coat a large frying pan with 1-2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil over medium-high heat and place the salmon fillets in the pan. Cook until the filets are golden brown on one side, 3-4 minutes, and flip the fillets.  Immediately add the orange sauce to the pan and spoon the sauce over the fillets to make a glaze while cooking for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the salmon is done.
7. Serve the salmon over the salad and enjoy!

Thank you to The Florida Department of Citrus for sponsoring this healthy post!  All opinions are my own.