Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes and Parmesan Grits

Grilled salmon with Parmesan Grits and Roasted Tomatoes

I ♥ grits. Funny thing is, even though I lived in New Orleans for six years, I don’t recall making grits for dinner. Ever. I’m a grits-for-dinner convert now, especially if there is cheese involved. A single serving version of this recipe with chicken was featured in the October 11 issue of Everyday Food. I knew as soon as I saw it, I was going to have to make it. And then in that way that the universe works for me I stumbled on another version of the recipe (with way too many steps for my taste) that used salmon in place of the chicken.

A little maneuvering and I was able to morph both recipes into a nice dinner for me and my BFF. I skipped step two since I already had a container of slow roasted tomatoes in the fridge. This explains why the tomatoes are mixed in with the grits in the photo instead of placed on top of the salmon which would have been prettier. I also used my George Forman Grill to do the salmon. Even if you’re doing the salmon and tomatoes in a skillet, this dish will still come together in no time flat. Bonus points for me for serving said dinner in the beautiful plates my BFF gave me for my birthday!

Ingredients:

• Two 4 to 6 ounce salmon fillets
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup stone ground grits
• 2 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 tablespoon butter, optional
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Brush salmon with olive oil and season with thyme, salt and pepper. Place salmon in skillet and cook, flipping once, until it flakes through with a fork (about 15 minutes). Remove salmon and keep warm. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
2. In same skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium and add tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Cook until tomatoes are softened and onion is tender, 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small pot, bring broth or water to boil. Stir in grits, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until water is absorbed, about 7 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Spoon butter on top of grits to melt.
4. To serve, top grits with salmon and vegetables.

Serves Two

Kat’s tip: Even though I’ve never cooked grits for dinner, I have eaten them for dinner. Here’s my tip for you. If you’re ever in New Orleans, make sure you get over to Zea’s for their roasted corn grits. You’ll thank me but your waist line won’t. Zea’s recipe is chock full of butter and cream but the grits are oh-so-wonderful! If I ever find a skinny version of this recipe I’ll be sure to post it. If anyone has one, I’d be interested in it 🙂

Nutritional value (assumes 4 oz salmon and butter because you gotta live a little)

Calories 547.3  Total Fat 25.3 g  Cholesterol 103.6 mg  Sodium 292.2 mg  Potassium 840.4 mg  Total Carbohydrate 40.9 g  Protein 36.9 g

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