sticky cranberry ginger salmon
A comforting, simple salmon dish to cope with the inevitable return to normal work schedules and to help flush out the load of cheese and champagne consumed over the holidays.
Some of us are keen on creating healthier habits in the new year, and while the majority probably drop them after trying to change far too many things at once, the contribution I can make is to leave my judgments in the toilet and provide healthy but ridiculously tasty options to make meal prepping easier. I understand why most resolutions don’t stick: you have to start small and work your way into deeper, more thorough habit-making. I’m someone who is very good at creating routine and sticking to it (probably because I’m a stubborn asshole, and it works in my favor in that regard), but not everyone is.
I’m no life coach, but what small bit of advice I can lend is to choose one facet to change at a time. Perhaps it’s forcing your hand out of the candy bowl in the evenings or resisting a six pack of Coca Cola, taking yourself for a 20 minute walk every day or pausing to do some yoga. Whatever the case, one tiny move forward can pave the way for five, ten, twenty larger steps in the future. Such is how I’ve been able to sustain a very active lifestyle over a prolonged period. Think, oh, 8 years or so!
For those sorting out their eating, this Sticky Cranberry Ginger Salmon is an easy place to start. Oven-baked salmon and broccoli soaks up the flavors of a great stir fry sauce hinted with citrus and cranberry and a touch of spice from cinnamon. Serve with a pile of rice and a pair of chopsticks, if you dare.
Get Baked
Not that kind, you nut.
You can choose to prepare your salmon a few different ways. I chopped mine into inch-sized cubes, but you can slice the slab into a few filets or leave the chunk whole. No real wrong way to do it. I like the stir fry appearance of cubes for my bowl.
So, choose your salmon style, but cut up the broccoli fairly small. Think florets no larger than an inch. They crisp up more nicely and bake faster than big fat redwood-esque florets.
Start out by tossing each with some sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange on opposite sides of a parchment-lined baking sheet and throw in the oven for an initial roast for 10 minutes at 425.
Sauce Toss
While the salmon and broccoli roast, prepare the sauce.
I’ll preface this by saying if you don’t quite get the sauce done right as the timer beeps for the fish, it’s more than okay to remove the tray while you finish up the sauce. Nothing’s going to explode or shriven to ruin. Promise.
That said…Grab a small sauce pot and whisk together cranberry juice, orange juice, soy sauce, shallots, garlic, ginger, honey, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and a cinnamon stick. The cinnamon stick is key to infusing a wonderfully complex flavor into the sauce, but it won’t overpower the rest of the components.
Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until reduced by half. About 3 or so minutes into the boiling, take out the cinnamon stick. By this point it will have done its infusing job. 8-10 minutes total boiling time should do the trick to thicken the sauce. Then, whisk in cornstarch. This helps the stuff stick to the fish.
Pour the sauce over the salmon – it’s okay if some trickles onto the broccoli – and cook 5 minutes more. Longer depending on the desired doneness of the fish and broccoli.
How I serve this fish dish? Rice is a must, or quinoa if you prefer. Sesame seeds for toastiness, green onions for a bit of crunch. To make it a feast, throw down some Ginger Soy Shrimp Dumplings. Protein, yo.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
More healthy one pan salmon recipes to try:
Sheetpan Glazed Coffee Balsamic Salmon and Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Sheetpan Curried Salmon and Potatoes with Spicy Green Chutney
Sheetpan Blood Orange Pomegranate Salmon
sticky cranberry ginger salmon
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon
- 2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/3 cup cranberry juice
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- rice, sesame seeds, and green onions, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Pat salmon dry and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle one tablespoon sesame oil and set on one side of the baking sheet. Toss broccoli with remaining tablespoon of oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Spread on the opposite side. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the fish and broccoli bake, prepare the sauce. In a small pot, whisk together the cranberry juice, orange juice, soy sauce, shallots, garlic, ginger, honey, rice vinegar, red pepper, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick after 3-5 minutes. Whisk in the corn starch.
- Remove the sheetpan from the oven. Pour the thickened sauce over the salmon. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes or until salmon reaches desired doneness. Shred the salmon and serve over rice with the broccoli, sesame seeds, and scallions, as desired.
