Say Goodbye to Salty Thai

     I was really craving good old fashioned spaghetti tonight, but since I'm going to one of my favorite Italian restaurants tomorrow, I held myself back. What's the next best thing? Well, Thai of course. The only drawback of Thai food is the sodium intake. I swear, the morning after eating Thai I can barely open my eyes because they are so swollen. So, I'm on a mission to make a low-sodium, healthy Thai meal. 

Curried Halibut

Ingredients:
2 tsp canola oil
2 shallots, minced
2 tsp curry powder
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 (5 ounce) halibut fillets
2 roasted red peppers, sliced, recipe follows
1 scallion (green part only), sliced
2 cups jasmine rice, cooked

Directions:
Heat canola oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add shallots and cook until browned. Stir in curry powder until fragrant. Add chicken broth, coconut milk and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Simmer for about 5 minutes. 
Season halibut with salt and pepper, then place in pan. Coat the fish with the sauce. Place cover over pan and cook about 10 minutes until fish flakes easily with fork. 
Assemble rice on a plate, followed by roasted red peppers and then the halibut.
Stir the cilantro and scallions in the sauce, then pour sauce over fish. Serve warm.


Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients:
2 large red peppers

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. 
Place the whole peppers on a baking sheet and cook for about 35 minutes, flipping a couple times through. 
Remove from oven and cover in aluminum foil. Let it rest for 30 minutes. 
Remove stems, seeds and skin. Cut into quarters. 

Crowd Pleaser

     My boyfriend hates maple syrup. I on the otherhand, throughly enjoy it...so tonight I'm making a maple-ginger roasted salmon. Just so you don't think I'm a bad girlfriend for making him eat things he doesn't enjoy I'm going to balance it off with his two favorite things - roasted brussels sprouts and rice pilaf.

Maple-Ginger Roasted Salmon

Ingredients:

¾ cup maple syrup*

2 tbsp. minced ginger

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp. soy sauce

½ tsp. ground black pepper

½ tsp. salt

1-2.25 lb salmon filet (skin on)

*TFM: Use Grade B if available. It has a stronger maple flavor, with carmel undertones that is better for cooking/baking.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix all ingredients except salmon in a bowl and pour into sealable bag. Marinade fish for 2 hours.  
Line baking dish with parchment paper and place salmon skin side down. Brush fish with marinade and roast for 20-25 minutes (TFM: Brush more marinade on fish halfway through cooking time, so the fish doesn’t dry out). 
Fish is done once it flakes easily with a fork.
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. brussels sprouts

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt*

½ tsp. ground black pepper

*TFD: Use ¾ tsp. kosher salt before roasting and sprinkle with ¼ tsp. coarse sea salt after roasting.

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
Trim ends off of brussels sprouts and cut in half lengthwise. Mix olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss brussels sprouts in mixture and arrange in one layer on baking sheet. 
Roast 35-40 minutes, until crisp on the outside(TFM: Shake baking sheet every 10 minutes or so to prevent burning).  



BTW, my boyfriend cleared his plate.