Salmon is one of your best friends (if is not it should be) for many reasons.  Not only it is healthy and delicious, it is easy to cook and it takes no time to be on your table,  it also makes you look so good when friends are over – like you were cooking for hours!

The Honey-Mustard Glaze in this recipe, combined with lemon and thyme gives this dish such a subtle sweet flavor and once it gets caramelized in the oven, mixed with all the juices of the salmon….it is scrumptious! And for this glaze you probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry. Some honey, country dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, a lemon and fresh thyme, that’s it. If by any chance you also have some capers, just throw them in there…yum!

It takes 5 minutes to prepare the glaze  and the baking time will take approximately 20 minutes, depending on your oven and how done and  caramelized you like the salmon, the sauce and the lemon.

I paired it with rice-orzo pilaf. It had been a while since we had rice-orzo pilaf last and honestly we really love it.  It took me less than 40 minutes to have all this dish ready and the clean-up process was as simple as it was to cook dinner (this is one of the reasons why I love to bake).

When I lived in Miami,  I used to have lunch  at this Colombian cafe sometimes and I have been missing their arroz verde (green rice with parsley) and arroz con fideos (rice with noodles) so I decided to mix both recipes and let me tell you…it came out a-ma-zing.

This rice is super easy to prepare and it takes no time at all. Just toast the orzo in the pot (or noodles, whichever one you like better) with  butter and olive oil, add some onion, garlic and sauté all together with the rice until they get translucent. Add some broth with processed or chopped parsley and that’s it, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, voila.

Rice is one of my favorite side dishes. I always make a little extra so that the next day I can make fried rice with chicken and veggies or just rice cakes with veggies and parmesan cheese.

Salmon recipe adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

Roasted Salmon with Honey-Mustard Glaze and Rice-Orzo Pilaf

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

Salmon

1 lb skin-on salmon fillet

1/4 country Dijon mustard

2 tbsp honey

12 to 14 thyme springs plus 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Salt and Pepper

2 tbsp of capers, rinsed (optional)

Rice-Orzo Pilaf

1  cup flat italian Parsley

1/4 cup Orzo

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 small clove of garlic, whole

1/2 cup  onion, chopped

3/4 cup rice

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter (optional)

Instructions

Salmon: Preheat oven to 450 ° Fahrenheit.

Cut and place parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Slice the lemon very thin. Whisk the mustard, honey and vinegar in a small bowl.

Place the springs of thyme on  the baking sheet and place the salmon fillet on top of the springs, skin down. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and spread the mustard glaze on top. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves and 2 tbsp of capers.

Bake in center of oven for approximately 20 minutes or until salmon is done and lemons are caramelized.

Rice-Orzo Pilaf:  Process parsley with 1 cup of vegetable broth and set aside. Toast orzo in a medium pot  with 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil at medium high heat. Add onion and garlic (whole clove) and stir until translucent. Add rice and sauté for about 1 or 2 minutes until the rice is coated with the oil. Add 1 cup of the vegetable broth with parsley and the remaining cup of broth. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until all liquid has evaporated and rice is tender. Stir with a fork, remove the clove of garlic and add 1 tbsp of butter (optional).