Sheet-pan spicy Mediterranean salmon and veggies is an easy weeknight meal. Roasted red peppers, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and salmon coated in spicy zhoug sauce and baked until tender.
Oh boy. I am being a bad Catholic this year. I mean, I am probably a bad Catholic for a slew of other reasons; however, this time of year I try a little harder. During Lent, I always give something up. This year I racked my brain and I just couldn’t come up with anything I could part with for 40 days.
I know I sound totally selfish.
Let me explain. Every Lenten season I give up meat on Fridays. Boom. That one is easy. We normally eat pizza on Fridays. I am always a lover of veggie pizzas more than meat. Easy enough (for me…for Mike, not so much). Also, I have a secret-not-so-secret-anymore love affair with the Fish Filet from McDonald’s. So, if I don’t want to cook and I give in to the toddler fast food demands, I am not averse to Filet-O-Fish.
Judge me all you want. I am not ashamed.
In addition to the no meat, I always come up with something else to live without. Last year I gave up drinking on the weekdays. That healthy trend actually stuck around all year, so there goes that idea.
I was contemplating giving up coffee. Ever since Christmas I have been flying through this huuuuuge toddler sized gift bag worth of coffee pods. Making coffee at home was a simple thing Mike and I decided to do to save money throughout the year. Unfortunately, it turned into a dependency.
Mama needs her coffee every single morning.
I used to be one of those people that could get coffee once a week. I would treat myself to a Starbuck’s latte. Now, I am lucky if I get out of the house once a month for one of those special treat coffees. Womp, womp.
Last week, I was feeling kind of bad (Catholic guilt kicking in) that I never picked my thing to give up. Then I realized it had been over a week since our giant supply of coffee pods had run out and I had yet to buy more.
Turns out my laziness actually led me to kind of sort of give up coffee.
Now the hard part will be to keep it up. It is easy to do something when you don’t realize you are doing it. I will just have to keep coming up with meat free recipes to sub in for pizza to fill the mind space occupied by the sign flashing “NEED COFFEE NOW!”
Luckily, salmon is so versatile. Aside from this sheet-pan spicy Mediterranean salmon, try blood orange and jalapeno salmon, skillet salmon and radishes, or lox pizza.
Sheet-Pan Spicy Mediterranean Salmon and Vegetables
Ingredients
For the Zhoug:
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper flakes
- 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Dish:
- 2 Teaspoons Zhoug if you don't have access to the trader Joe's zhoug sauce, try the above recipe
- Juice from 1/2 Lemon
- Zest of 1/2 a Lemon
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2, 1/2 Pound Salmon Filets
- 6 Ounces Frozen or Canned Artichoke Hearts thawed and drained
- 1 Jarred Roasted Red Pepper chopped
- 1/2 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- 1/4 Cup Diced Red Onion
Instructions
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If you are making your own zhoug, combine all the sauce ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
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Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
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Mix the zhoug, lemon juice, olive oil, and lemon zest together in a small mixing bowl. Add the red pepper, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and onion to the bowl. Toss lightly to coat.
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Place the salmon filets on the prepared pan. Arrange the vegetables around the salmon. Spoon the remainder of the sauce in the mixing bowl on top of the salmon.
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Bake for 15 minutes. If you want a little crisp on top of the veggies and salmon, pop on a high broiler for an additional 2 minutes.
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Serve with some brown/white rice or quinoa. Best the day of but will reheat in the microwave within 3 days if stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
