Name: Salmon with Brown Butter Vegetables
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 16 oz Salmon; 2 medium Zucchini (chopped, about 8 oz); 2 medium Yellow Squash (chopped, about 8 oz); 1/2 small White Onion (diced, about 4 oz); 1 large Red Bell Pepper (diced, about 4 oz); 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil (for cooking the vegetables); 4 tbsp Butter; 1 Ice Cube; 1 tbsp Thyme Leaves (Fresh); 1 tsp Onion Powder; 1 tsp Garlic Powder; 2 tsp Ground Rosemary (dried); 2 tsp Ground Oregano (dired)

Before the holidays, my husband and I traveled to Nebraska. Breakfast before our morning flight consisted of a cup of coffee, so we were both ready for food when we landed at 11:00 a.m. We hopped off the plane, picked up our rental car (we were there for a wedding), and immediately checked Google for a place to eat. We found this great restaurant in Omaha called Pig and Finch. The restaurant is in the same shopping center as a Trader Joe’s – #win to pick up weekend snacks! We ordered SO much food at Pig and Finch – a charcuterie board, a smoked salmon plate, pork belly and an amazing salmon cooked in a parchment pouch with festive brown butter winter veggies. The salmon dish was the inspiration for my Salmon with Brown Butter Vegetables.

Ingredients for Salmon with Brown Butter Vegetables

This dish is super flavorful and only 6 NET CARBS per serving. The herb brown butter gives the vegetables great flavor. The vegetables featured here are zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper and a smidgen of onion. You could easily substitute other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms or tomatoes. Use your favorite flavor combination!

The herbs for the butter are fresh thyme, dried oregano, dried rosemary, garlic powder and onion powder. The brown butter and herbs will make your house smell amazing.

For this recipe, I used a pound of Norwegian organic salmon. Salmon is high in protein, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. It has zero carbs and a decent amount of fat – perfect choice for a keto or low carb diet.

The Salmon & Vegetables

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the zucchini and yellow squash into bite-sized pieces and dice the bell pepper and onion. Place the raw salmon in an oven-safe dish and roast until the internal temperature is 115 to 120 degrees. Meanwhile, toss the bell pepper and onion in a skillet with some oil or butter for a quick sauté. Cook until the pepper and onion are just starting to soften. Add the zucchini and squash, and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

The Herb Brown Butter

Now on to the brown butter. Be sure to use a light-colored pan so you can see the browning milk solids. Get half a stick of butter and heat over medium low heat. Swirl the pan constantly to prevent the butter from burning. After a few minutes, the butter will bubble and boil. Water is cooking off at this point. Shortly after that, the butter will foam. It will be hard to see the bottom of the pan, so be sure to keep swirling, or use a spatula to continually stir the butter. Eventually, little brown bits will appear at the bottom of the pan. Keep swirling or stirring until the butter smells nutty and fragrant, and you have a healthy amount of brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add one ice-cube to cool the butter, and stir until the ice is melted. Finally, stir in the herbs.

Bringing it All Together

Put the vegetable pan back on medium high heat, and cook until hot. Drizzle most of the brown butter over the vegetables, and stir to coat all the vegetables. Reserve a tablespoon of the herb brown butter for topping the salmon.

To plate the salmon with brown butter vegetables, divide the vegetables evenly between four serving dishes. Cut the roasted salmon into four even pieces and set on the vegetables. Top with a little drizzle of brown butter. Serve and enjoy!