Maple Glazed Salmon & Roasted Carrots

Wait – what’s this?  Two posts in one day?  AND it’s a Thursday (aka, exam tomorrow).  Perhaps this blogging thing is unhealthy.  Or at least the downfall of my academic career.  But I’m all studied out, and after a blustery October day I thought we needed a nice warm autumn meal.  This happens to be what we had on hand.  I pulled a couple pieces of salmon out of the freezer, found some carrots in the back of the fridge and – voila! – dinner is served. 

To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I ate a cooked carrot.  But late autumn weather like this just seems to ask for something “roasted.”  It even sounds warm and cozy.  As it turns out, they’re not that bad.  I think I prefer them crunchy, but as far as cooked carrots go these were pretty tasty.  The salmon, on the other hand, was delicious.  Both Chris and I were big fans of this recipe.  Simple ingredients, quick and easy to make – I think it will become a regular in our repertoire.  

Maple Glazed Salmon & Roasted Carrots

Ingredients
2 4-ounce salmon fillets

2 T maple syrup

2 T soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

fresh cracked black pepper

4 carrots

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 T dried tarragon

Mix the maple syrup, soy sauce and garlic in a small baking dish, then coat the salmon and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash, peel and cut the carrots into equal sized pieces (so they cook evenly).  Toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper and the tarragon.   Place on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven – they’ll need to cook a total of 30-40 minutes.

Remove salmon from marinade, place on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper.  Bake in the oven (still at 400 F) for 18-20 minutes (if you plan it right, your salmon & carrots should be done at the same time).  Poor the remaining marinade into a pan and bring to a boil on the stovetop for 2-3 minutes.*

Serve the salmon and carrots with rice, topped with the marinade sauce. 

* Note: I’m currently taking a course on infectious diseases and I’m telling you, you want to boil this stuff.  Foodborne diseases are NOT NICE, and now I’m pretty paranoid.**  I can’t think of anything that I know of that is carried specifically by salmon, but I’m sure there’s something.  Shellfish can carry cholera, and perhaps your salmon was close friends with a shellfish.  You don’t want cholera, do you?

** Another note: Just for full disclosure, yes I licked the bowl when I made cookies earlier today.  Cookie dough is just so delicious, I think its worth the risk of salmonella.***

*** Another note: I might change my mind about that someday.

Caution: grease your pan.  This was a pain to clean.