Baked Salmon with Breaded Topping and Falafel

Baked Salmon with Breaded Topping, Falafel and Steamed Veggies

Holly and I were down at our local Greek market and as she was picking up her beloved apricot

jam when I saw this box of falafel mix and thought "This will go great with that salmon in the freezer".

"Have you ever had Falafel?," I asked.

"I don't think so."

"Well you're about to have it for dinner."

The Falafel was incredibly easy to make. I bought the Casbah brand and all you do is add water and fry them. So simple and tasty. I'm not going to detail the prep for it here other than to indicate that you should heat your oil and your oven at the same time. It paired very well with a baked salmon recipe I obtained and slightly modified from www.cooks.com and I think you'll like it.

Step One:

a) For Salmon: Pre-heat oven to 450F

b) For Falafel: In a sturdy frying pan, heat about 1" of oil vegetable oil at medium heat. Don't get fancy and try and use Olive Oil. It's more acidic than vegetable oil and will likely strip any coating off your pan. These only take about 2 mins to cook so fry them up about halfway through the

salmon bake time.

Step Two:

A) Spray a coat on non-stick onto shallow baking dish and lay your salmon fillet down on it.

B) Sprinkle the following ingredients onto the salmon and then rub them in for good measure:

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
Pepper to taste
2 tbsp. herbs de Provence

Step Three:

Now in a separate bowl mix together:

1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Top the fillet generously with the breading.

Step Four:

Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the fish is nice and flaky. The topping should also turn a beautiful tanned color and get a little crunchy.

Step Five:

Serve with the falafel and steamed veggies. You win.

Paired up with my Belgian Ale (Straffe Hendrik) very well. Definitely had leftovers that reheated nicely for lunch the next day.

Calories: Only about 550 calories (if you don't include the beer).