Get yourself some za’atar seasoning, ASAP. I’m sure there are plenty of uses for the Middle Eastern spice blend, but I’m most recently obsessed with this one. He may not have known what I was cookin with, but Albie kept saying “huh I like these spices.” I think that equates to a win over here.
Place a pat of butter on each salmon filet and sprinkle with za’atar, then get it roasting in the oven. It should take about 25 minutes so while that’s cooking, get everything else together. Quinoa should take about the same amount of time as the salmon so get that started (in the rice cooker if you want things to be super easy). Meanwhile, sauté two or three sliced shallots in oil til they’re soft and then add a bag of frozen spinach to the pan with a bit of water and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and season with salt and pepper. For the remaining fixins, I mixed up a quick sauce of Greek yogurt, dried dill, salt, and black garlic flakes from TJ’s (regular garlic would work) and also set out sliced radishes and chickpeas that had been marinated with parsley and cumin (also from Trader Joe’s).
Let’s talk about how healthy this meal is! Do not feel bad about getting a second helping, which you’re going to want to do. Also, this bowl is actually just as good sans quinoa. I mistakenly made too little of the grain so I offered it all to my beau and simply used the spinach as my base…and think I may have liked it even better that way.
Peaches to Apples 