Week 13: Seared Ginger-Balsamic Salmon with Hot and Sour Slaw

We didn't have the energy to create something original this week, so we tried a new recipe that was published in last Sunday's newspaper. I found it online here, if you want to give it a try. It was not particularly low sodium, but we did manage to reduce it to an acceptable level by leaving out the salt and using less soy sauce. It made a delicious meal that was a nice change of pace from our usual salmon dish.

Recipe - Low Sodium Salmon Packets

This is the recipe for last night's awesome salmon dinner. It was our best low salt meal yet.You can use other types of fish in this recipe - we have made it with several varieties including tilapia and cod. This low sodium version was adapted from a Cook's Country recipe that was one of our favorites in our "not caring about sodium content" era. Some quantities in this recipe will be approximate, because that is just the way we roll. Neither of us measures ingredients very carefully unless we are baking, where being exact matters a great deal.

Ingredients (per serving, which is one package):

~6 oz. fish fillet (your choice, but it was delicious with salmon), skin removed
1 red bliss potato, sliced thin (we left them unpeeled)
1/2 stalk celery, sliced at an angle into 2-3mm thick pieces
1/2 carrot, julienned
1 lemon slice
zest of lemon
freshly ground black pepper
2 T white wine
2 T "chicken stock" (we used Wylers no sodium chicken flavor powder with water to make this)
pat of unsalted butter
fresh dill weed
Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning (optional)

Other necessary items:

heavy duty aluminum foil
baking sheet or pan

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Microwave the sliced potatoes for about a minute to pre-soften them. Meanwhile, lay out a sheet of the heavy duty aluminum foil - one per packet/serving. You will need a sheet of this large enough to contain the fish and veggies with an equal area to fold over and seal. Place the sliced, pre-cooked potatoes on one half of the foil, top with the fish, then cover with the celery and carrots. Add some of the fresh dill, lemon zest, freshly ground pepper, and a pat of butter. Top all of this with the lemon slice. Bend the edges of the foil up so that each packet will hold liquid without spillage. Finally pour the "chicken stock" and wine over each packet, then fold the foil over and seal the edges tightly. Place packets in a baking pan or sheet and transfer to the middle rack of your oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

One serving of this recipe makes a complete meal that is satisfying, but not overly filling. It is also very easy to clean up after. Once on the table, I sprinkled some Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning on to make it even more savory and delicious. I didn't miss the salt AT ALL. And that makes me very happy!

Sodium count (per serving): < 150 mg