Ok, y’all. It’s high time we all stop being afraid of fat.
Good fats like wild caught salmon, extra virgin olive oil and grass fed butter have immensely good benefits for you, especially for your brain.
I’ve recently been reading the book Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life by Max Lugavere. It’s really helping me shift my perspective on foods, especially fatty foods and understand how they impact not just your waistline, but your brain functionality.
While I still believe everything is good in moderation, adding in more foods that contain healthy fats can help your body reduce inflammation, boost your brain speed and properly protect your brain from future degenerative disease like Alzheimers.
Needless to say, I am being greatly influenced by what Genius Foods can do for brain functionality and the food that I have set my attention on is SALMON.
I love salmon, but honestly, I wasn’t making it enough. So i’m on a mission to incorporate more of it into our diet. Adding it in at LEAST once a week is my goal for now, while also being more consistent with our daily fish oil pill.
Now, like any food you eat frequently, it can get boring REALLY FAST if you don’t get creative. So I decided to take some of THE BEST brain-healthy fats and combine them together to make this Mediterranean Butter Salmon!
It’s a wonderful dish to make as a week-night dinner or as a main dish for a dinner party. It tastes decadent with the white wine and butter mixed with the creamy cashewgurt, but you’ll know just how nutritional all these ingredients are for everyone. Now that’s what I call a winning recipe!
Season your salmon filets with salt and pepper. (Make sure the skin is removed). Then add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Once your pan is hot, lay in your salmon filets.
Cook your salmon filets how you prefer. I like mine medium well, so I sear on each side for 5 minutes. Once your filets are done, remove them from the pan and set aside to add back once you've made your sauce.
Keeping the same skillet over medium heat, add in your minced onion and roasted garlic to the man. Add in another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Allow all of this to get fragrant, the onions to soften and get clear. Should take about 5 minutes.
Now you will add in the mushrooms and spinach to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze the half lemon. Sautee until the mushrooms and spinach are soft and wilted. About 10 minutes.
Once all your veggies have been cooked down, you will add in the white wine, water and butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Then allow to simmer and reduce for 15 minutes. (Everything is still over medium heat)
Once your sauce is reduced down, remove it from the heat and add in the cashewgurt. (NOTE: I use the Forager Cashewgurt because it is dairy free and doesn't curdle as easily as greek yogurt. If you use greek yogurt in this recipe, let the sauce cool for about 5 minutes before stirring it into the sauce to prevent it from curdling.)
Also, it's your call if you would like to thicken the sauce or enjoy it as a thinner sauce. If you're enjoying this dish on a bed of rice, the thinner sauce will soak into the rice better and be super delicious. *If you want to thicken the sauce use 1 Tbls. corn starch mixed with 1 Tbls. of water.
When you're finished stirring in the cashewgurt (or greek yogurt), add the salmon back into the pan and give it a little bath.
Make your lemon, sun dried tomato, parsley relish now. Add in a Tbls. of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, pinch of salt, sun dried tomatoes and parsley. Pulse together until it looks like a relish.
Serving Size 3oz Salmon Filet + 1/4 cup sauce
Servings 5
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 387
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 26.4g41%
- Saturated Fat 8.5g43%
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 64mg22%
- Sodium 90.7mg4%
- Potassium 278.5mg8%
- Total Carbohydrate 19.1g7%
- Dietary Fiber 1.7g7%
- Sugars 3.5g
- Protein 20g40%
- Vitamin A 31.2%
- Vitamin C 18.3%
- Calcium 3%
- Iron 5.8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
xoxo Ashley
Ingredients
Directions
Season your salmon filets with salt and pepper. (Make sure the skin is removed). Then add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Once your pan is hot, lay in your salmon filets.
Cook your salmon filets how you prefer. I like mine medium well, so I sear on each side for 5 minutes. Once your filets are done, remove them from the pan and set aside to add back once you've made your sauce.
Keeping the same skillet over medium heat, add in your minced onion and roasted garlic to the man. Add in another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Allow all of this to get fragrant, the onions to soften and get clear. Should take about 5 minutes.
Now you will add in the mushrooms and spinach to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze the half lemon. Sautee until the mushrooms and spinach are soft and wilted. About 10 minutes.
Once all your veggies have been cooked down, you will add in the white wine, water and butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Then allow to simmer and reduce for 15 minutes. (Everything is still over medium heat)
Once your sauce is reduced down, remove it from the heat and add in the cashewgurt. (NOTE: I use the Forager Cashewgurt because it is dairy free and doesn't curdle as easily as greek yogurt. If you use greek yogurt in this recipe, let the sauce cool for about 5 minutes before stirring it into the sauce to prevent it from curdling.)
Also, it's your call if you would like to thicken the sauce or enjoy it as a thinner sauce. If you're enjoying this dish on a bed of rice, the thinner sauce will soak into the rice better and be super delicious. *If you want to thicken the sauce use 1 Tbls. corn starch mixed with 1 Tbls. of water.
When you're finished stirring in the cashewgurt (or greek yogurt), add the salmon back into the pan and give it a little bath.
Make your lemon, sun dried tomato, parsley relish now. Add in a Tbls. of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, pinch of salt, sun dried tomatoes and parsley. Pulse together until it looks like a relish.