Every Friday night my fiancé and I like to make a “fun” dinner, we call it our “at home” date night. A little backstory before I share the recipe(s) with you – since we got engaged a few months ago I have been trying to take better care of myself (you can read more about that here) and my favorite dinner to have that feels like a treat, but still fits my macros is…..Baked Salmon + Sautéed Asparagus + Baked “Fries”. Man, there is nothing like a perfectly baked, crispy fry, am I right? This combo is super easy to throw together after work on a Friday night and in my opinion tastes better than any dinner out at a fancy restaurant.
So, how do you make amazing salmon without a grill? After 8 years of living in apartments I feel confident saying I’ve finally perfected the art of cooking meat without a grill. What changed? Honestly, I got a meat thermometer. I am a food safety nerd and I always overcooked my meats at home for fear of food poisoning, can you relate? There are so many good options out there but the one that has truly changed my life for the better is called meater. It’s a meat thermometer that connects to an app on your phone and will alert you when your meat is ready to be removed from the oven, it even takes into account time to rest to prevent overcooking. This thing seriously leveled up our meat cookery in the Hurley/Raynor household. We love it so much we bought most of our family members one for Christmas this year, and use ours almost daily. So, that’s the trick to our perfectly cooked salmon. The trick to the fries? Time. Whip these recipes up next Friday night and let me know what you think!
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Baked Potato “Fries”
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized russet potatoes
- non stick cooking spray
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non stick spray.
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Wash and dry potatoes and then cut them into long, thin strips, about a 1/4 inch thick. Try to cut them into similar sized strips.
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Lay potato strips in a single layer on the baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Place in oven and bake in the center of the oven for about 25 minutes. Check on them after about 25 minutes, depending on your oven you may need to flip them. I’ve found if you cook them in the center of the oven you can get away with not flipping them.
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Bake for about 15-25 minutes more until the fries are crispy and browned, but not burnt! We like our fries really crispy. Remove from oven and serve with salmon or burgers (and lots of ketchup, of course!).
The trick to perfect baked oven fries is really patience (aka a long cook time). Cutting your potatoes into thin strips and baking them for a little longer than you want to is the key to making these bad boys perfect!!
Baked Salmon & Sautéed Asparagus
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound sockeye or coho salmon filet
- non stick spray
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 tsp olive oil
- coconut aminos, for serving (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.* Place a small sheet of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and spray with non stick spray.
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Place the salmon on the aluminum foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. wrap the aluminum foil up around the salmon. If you are using a meater (or meat thermometer that can be left in while cooking) you will want to insert it into the fish before wrapping the aluminum foil around it and leave the end sticking out.
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Place salmon in the oven and bake as directed by meater thermometer, or until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
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Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan on the stove. Cut the white/purple thick ends off the asparagus and then slice the remaining part of the spears into halves or thirds.
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Add asparagus to the sauté pan and sauté for about 5-10 minutes, until asparagus is slightly softened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Avoid leaving on heat for too long, that’s how soggy/limp asparagus happens!
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When fish has reached temp and asparagus is cooked you can serve with baked “fries” and a drizzle of coconut aminos. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If you are making this with the Baked “Fries” I recommend starting the salmon when the fries have about 15-20 minutes left and starting the asparagus when everything has about 10-15 minutes left.
Did you try this recipe? Make any substitutions? Let us know how they turned out in the comments below!
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