Friday Food Club: Salmon with spinach sauce

As the nights grow lighter and the weather a little warmer, Spring is just around the corner.

There’s a sense that better days aren’t far away and the normality we all crave is within touching distance.

While we might still have a few weeks until the restaurants and bars reopen it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy restaurant-quality dishes at home.

In our latest offering of the Friday Food Club, in association with Ludo’s Primal Wellness, we’re serving up a salmon with spinach sauce that will have you hooked!

Cooking time

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 55 minutes

From pantry to plate: 60

What you’ll need: ingredients

• 1 cup (200g) brown or wild rice rinsed
• 2 cups (500ml) water
• 1 tsp salt
• 400g salmon fillets 2 x 200g
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 lemon cut in wedges

For the spinach sauce

• 2 cups of spinach finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove grated into a fine paste
• 1 lemon juiced

Step by step guide

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place rice, water and salt in a saucepan and simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
3. Place salmon on tray, season well with salt and pepper and roast for 13-15 minutes or until salmon is cooked to your liking.
4. While salmon roasts, combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste.

Three health benefits of salmon

1. Salmon is rich in a type of polyunsaturated fat called Omega-3 fatty acids. Our bodies can’t produce these so are essential to include them in our regular diets. They also play a part in ensuring your heart is healthy as well as helping to maintain skin, joints and hormonal balance.
2. It’s no secret that fish is heralded as being the ultimate brain food. Studies have shown regular consumption can reduce age-related brain loss and could improve memory. It can also play a part in supporting people living with conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease, depression and Multiple Sclerosis.
3. Age might just be a number, but we want to make sure the ageing process is as healthy as possible, and fish helps with that. Salmon is a good source of protein and is important to help prevent muscle loss and help the body heal and repair. It’s also rich in astaxanthin which may help reduce signs of ageing and protect the skin against UV damage.