Salmon and Tomatoes with Rice Pilaf

Salmon and Tomatoes with Rice Pilaf - such a delicious dish and combination of flavours.

I love salmon, but must admit I don't buy it very often as it's super expensive here and I prefer to eating wild caught over farmed if I can.

I have purchased some frozen salmon in the past, but the taste just hasn't impressed me.

Occasionally my local grocery store will have an offer on a big salmon fillet and when they do, I always grab one, slice it into single serve portions and freeze. But not before making this dish. It is one of my favourites to make whenever I have some fresh salmon on hand and the kids love it too.

Sometimes I will serve it with just a salad, but when I want a meal that is a bit more filling I serve this with a delicious rice pilaf - that has red pepper, zucchini and chick peas mixed into it.

For the chickpeas, I always try to use dried over canned, I just find they are much more creamy and taste better. They are super easy to prepare. I just submerge fully in water and soak overnight, then drain, rinse well, add to a saucepan and cover with some water, season, bring to a boil, reduce heat, slightly cover with a lid and simmer for about 30 mins. Perfect. These are great for this  Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus or for adding into dishes like the Rice Pilaf that I serve with this Salmon. Of course if you want to save time, by all means you can use canned chick peas.

When making this Salmon and Tomato with Rice Pilaf, I like to get the pilaf prepared and cooking first, as that takes longer.

First I sauté the onion and garlic, then add in the red pepper, zucchini, chickpeas, rice and zest of a lemon. Fry for a about a minute with some spray oil. It really helps to flavour the pilaf.

Then you can pour in the stock, bring a boil, reduce heat cover and simmer, until the liquid is almost absorbed, and then turn off the heat, but leave the lid on to continue steaming and cooking the pilaf while you cook the salmon.

Beautifully cooked Rice Pilaf with red pepper, zucchini and chickpeas

The salmon part of this dish is super easy to make. I cook it at a high heat for a short amount of time as the salmon is so much more tastier like this.

Line a baking tray with some aluminium foil, and spray it with some spray oil. Place the salmon fillets onto the tray and season well with salt and black pepper. Then place the tomatoes next to the salmon and carefully pierce each one with a sharp knife (it just helps with the cooking). Drizzle the tomatoes with the Worcestershire sauce and some season, spray over the top with spray oil and then you can place in the oven and bake for 16 mins.

Once cooked, you remove the tomatoes from the baking tray and add to a bowl and squish them all with a fork, once squished I like to remove the skins, which should come away easily. Then mix in the mustard, mayo and fresh parsley until you have a lovely creamy sauce and spoon this over the top of the salmon. Season as needed.

Serve right away with the rice pilaf and you have a delicious family friendly meal (providing your family like fish of course).

This is a perfect summer dish, beautiful colours and really fresh in taste. My favourite dish to make with salmon.