A day where my little cells did not grow as expected or an antibody did not work as it should’ve (sorry for being so nerdy!), I call Lou and by the tone of my voice she knows: “Salmon?”. Me: “Absolutely, you read my mind!” This dish is our most comfortable dinner, which suddenly eliminates any stress and sadness that the day has brought; the pink of the salmon and the green of the asparagus add color to our table on these grayer nights; usually, we accompany the beautiful filets and vegetables with our favorite cous cous mix from Trader Joe’s! Take away message: allow your dinners to change your day, to move it upside down, to shake it and make it great! Trust the incredible power that food certainly has!

Ingredients:

• 2 Salmon filets (we like the Atlantic filets)
• 200g fresa asparagi (look for the most fatty ones!)
• Fresh thyme
• Salt and Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

1. First thing, start by seasoning your salmon filets. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Be generous! Finish up with some fresh thyme petals. At the end, add a branch of tyme with all its leaves on top of both filets. Let the filets absorb all these flavors added!

2. Wash your asparagus and remove the toughest extremity of each of them, which otherwise becomes very hard and chewy when cooked. Lou always stops me when I try to throw away the left over of the asparagus. She collects and freeze them so they’re perfect for when you want to do a delicious broth for your risotto night (link the asparagus risotto)

3. Get the roasting pan and put some oven paper (so the skin of the salmon does not stick to the pan). Place your cleaned asparagus and start seasoning with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix the asparagus so they get all the flavors evenly from the oil, pepper and salt.

4. As the oven reaches the 350 F, place the roasting pan with the asparagus for about 20 minutes.

5. Occasionally, get the pan out and mix the asparagus so they get cooked evenly.

6. When they start to become darker and softer at the touch, get the pan out of the oven, and add the two salmon filets.

7. Depending on how cooked you like the salmon, I would suggest to leave the filets in the oven between 10 and 15 minutes. I love the salmon still pink in the inside (10 minutes), but Lou for example likes it a bit more cooked (15 minutes and beyond!).

8. As the time has passed, get the pan out of the oven, and let the salmon rest for 5 minutes at least.

9. Start by plating your asparagus and add some olive oil to exalt that beautiful hearty flavors.

10. Now plate your filets in the dish and serve it! Add some fresh thyme on top to give some beautiful look and odor to the plate!