Welcome spring with sheet-pan sesame salmon

Here’s an easy dinner to welcome spring. Wild salmon season is starting now. For this easy dinner, I added fresh asparagus and new potatoes to complete the meal.

Little, sweet creamer potatoes or new potatoes are a spring crop. They have a short season, from April to June. Look for the very small ones, about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, which don’t need a lot of cooking. You can use red or yellow potatoes instead. Cut them into 3/4-inch pieces.

Helpful Hints:

• When you buy the salmon, ask for the salmon skin to be removed.
• You can use any salmon fillet if wild salmon isn’t available.
• You can find toasted sesame oil in the oil sections of the market or you can use regular sesame oil instead.

Sheet-pan Salmon With Asparagus and New Potatoes

Yield 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 pound new potatoes

2 tablespoons water

Olive oil spray

1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 pound wild caught salmon fillet, skin removed

1/2 pound asparagus

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons dried dill, optional garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash potatoes, do not peel, cut them in half. Add to a microwave safe bowl with the water. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Potatoes should be soft, add another minute if needed.

Spray a rimmed sheet pan with olive oil spray. Place sesame seeds on a plate, spoon lemon juice over salmon and add salmon to the plate. Press seeds onto both sides of the salmon. Place salmon on one end of the sheet pan. Remove hard ends from the asparagus and place on the sheet pan next to the salmon.

Place the microwaved potatoes next to the asparagus. Spray the asparagus and potatoes with the olive oil spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place sheet pan in the oven for 10 minutes.

Turn the oven on to broil. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes. The sesame seeds will start to brown, and potatoes become crisp. Watch to make sure they do not burn. A meat thermometer should read 125 degrees for the salmon and the asparagus and potatoes should be easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Drizzle the sesame oil over the salmon. Divide between two dinner plates. Sprinkle dried dill over the potatoes, if using.