Salmon, Kale & Tomato Skillet with Farro
Our favorite mid-week winter meal
In the deepest part of winter, cooking is truly a joy. A slowly simmering soup, and long cooking roast, a warm loaf of freshly baked bread. The textures and aromas of winter wrap us in a cozy comfort. During the week I find I am still looking for something deeply comforting and equally nourishing. A slow cook isn’t always a reality and I love a dish that can come together with ease at the end of a full day. There is something so satisfying about vegetables and meat getting cooked together, it makes it so much simpler to get it all on the table. This dish is so full of flavor–buttery, flaky salmon, savory greens, sweet cherry tomatoes and a bright balance from the lemons.
You might be saying '‘ok, hold up Rachel - tomatoes in winter? nuh uh.’ Hear me out–vine on, cherry tomatoes is where it is at. When roasted, they are sweet and juicy, perfect in this winter dish.
Here’s to your next midweek staple, I hope your family enjoys this dish as much as we do.
Salmon, Kale & Tomato Skillet with Farro
Serves 4
1 1/2 c. uncooked Farro
1 Bay Leaf
1 1/2 lb. Salmon
1 tsp. Dried Thyme, divided
Salt & Pepper
4-7 Tbs. Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
8-10oz. of Kale, Lacinato or Curly, roughly chopped
Several bunches of Vine on Cherry Tomatoes
1 Lemon
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare 1 1/2 c. farro according to the package directions, adding a bay leaf to the cooking water. Once cooked, set aside.
Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel, then season them generously with salt and pepper and 1/2 tsp. dried thyme.
Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs. olive oil and heat until shimmering, then add the salmon fillets, skin side down.
Cook skin side down for 4 minutes, then remove the skillet from the heat. Sprinkle half the chopped garlic into the pan, then nestle the kale into the pan around the salmon, leaving the thickest part of the salmon fillets exposed. I add as much kale as space allows around the salmon. Top the kale with cherry tomatoes - you can remove them from the stem or leave the stem on, up to you.
Cut the lemon in half, juice half the lemon over the skillet, and slice the other half, tucking the sliced halves into the skillet.
Add the other half of the chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, and salt and pepper to taste over the vegetables in the skillet.
Drizzle 2-3 Tbs. of olive oil over the whole skillet and place the skillet into the oven on the top rack for 20-25 minutes, until the salmon is opaque and flakes when separated with a fork at the thickest part of the salmon.
Serve immediately with warm farro.
