By Dr. Saira Hussain, MD
INDIA New England News Columnist
Hello. For me, food is more than just calories that people eat. I feel that making and serving delicious and nutritious meals are a way of life and it’s all about making smart choices. My recipes are a fusion of what I have learned from my grandmother and mother along with a lot of experimentation and reading about other people’s trial and errors.
I don’t let lack of an ingredient hold me back and I try to improvise as much as possible. We should make every effort to use as fresh and as organic ingredients as we possibly can. I avoid canned food products and pre-made ingredients in my recipes and at the end of the day, it’s a long term investment for your health. By going a little extra mile in this world of processed fast food culture, our families will benefit from having healthy diet and will appreciate finer taste.
Having a very busy schedule while working as a doctor and raising three children, cooking and eating at least one meal together brings our family closer. All my children are active participants in preparing the meal and now they can independently prepare some really delicious cuisines.
In my recipes, we will be talking about how to choose organic and non GMO based ingredients.
Today Laila of Laila’s Pantry, our 14 year old daughter and I will be cooking Baked Salmon with Dill, capers and lemon. Salmon is a great source of proteins and omega 3 fatty acids. Unlike red meat, white meat is preferred in your daily intake of proteins.
Serving 4-6 people:
Ingredients:
Fresh wild Atlantic Salmon fillet 2 pounds cut into 3-4 inches pieces
Juice of 2 Lemons
Thinly sliced pieces of 1 lemon
Fresh Dill 2 teaspoon
Capers 2 teaspoon
Olive oil 2 table spoon
Kosher sea Salt and pepper to personal taste
Method:
After washing, dry the fish completely with paper kitchen towel.
Use a large casserole dish and to make a base,
Put one tablespoon of oil
Sprinkle salt and pepper according to taste followed by the juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed.
Place fish fillets on top of the mixture
Place the lemon slices on the fillets
Put remaining lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper on top of the fish and sprinkle fresh Dill and Capers.
Pre-heat the oven to 325*. Cover the dish with aluminum foil to keep the fish moist. Bake the fish for 15 mins. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 mins depending upon the thickness of the fillets. It should be light pink in the middle.
I serve the fish with fresh garlic bread which has butter infused with rosemary and thyme. I also prepare a salad with fresh arugula, pear, feta cheese, and caramelized pecans.
I hope you enjoy!
(Dr. Hussain, VicePresident of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of New England, has been interested in organic food for a long time and will write her monthly column on organic food recipes. Dr. Hussain is a board certified internist in Warwick, RI. She is currently licensed to practice medicine in Rhode Island, and has been working as hospitalist at Kent County Hospital in Rhode Island. She did her residency from Brown in primary care. Dr. Hussain writes this column with her daughter, Laila.)
