Wild Salmon with Broiled Oranges

If you have only a few minutes to make yourself some lunch, you could microwave one of those soulless frozen entrees in a little plastic tray, or you could make Wild Salmon with Broiled Oranges.  If you opt for the wealth of vitamins, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids in this recipe, you’ll need to invest about $4 and six minutes of your life.  Ready?

Ingredients (makes 1 quick lunch)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

4 ounces of wild-caught salmon

Freshly ground black pepper

5 or 6 fresh orange segments, white membranes removed

2 generous cups fresh baby spinach

1 tablespoon orange marmalade

Directions

Step 1) Turn your oven broiler to a high setting.  We’ll use the hot oven in just a moment.

Step 2) Melt coconut oil in an oven-safe sauté pan over low heat.  We’re using coconut oil because of its high smoke point; it’s much safer and healthier under a broiler than, say, olive oil.

Step 3) When pan is coated with melted coconut oil, add salmon fillet to pan and sear on high heat for about 20 seconds.  Flip the salmon fillet and sear the other side for 20 seconds.  Remove pan from heat.

Step 4) Season the salmon with freshly ground black pepper, and top with orange segments.  Make sure the white membranes are removed, because we want the natural sugars inside the orange segments exposed to the heat of the broiler!

Step 5) Place your oven-safe sauté pan, salmon, and oranges under the broiler.  The oven rack should be high, so that the pan is close to the broiler.

Step 6) Broil your salmon and oranges for approximately 5 minutes.  Peek in the oven every minute, to make sure your oranges don’t burn.  When your meal is ready, the oranges will be just barely singed around the edges – you should see little flecks of dark color.

Step 7) Remove your sauté pan from the oven.  Arrange baby spinach leaves on a serving plate and drizzle with orange marmalade.  Set your salmon and oranges in the center of the spinach, and enjoy your quick and nutritious gourmet lunch!