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My Blue(berry) Heaven: Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Dijon Sauce

The blueberries are starting to roll in from the Florida fields, and I once again have the opportunity to cook with fresh berries. (Yea!)

For some reason, it seems like I eat healthier when I can incorporate fresh berries into my diet: berries for breakfast, berries for dessert, and berries seem to find their way onto my dinner plate as well. It’s like a gateway food to healthy eating. I realized that I eat more fish and fewer starches when I cook with fruit. And the blueberries are coming just in time – my pants have been getting a little tight over the past couple of weeks.

So to try and wipe away a month’s worth of poor eating habits with one meal, I came up with this dish: Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Dijon Sauce over Roasted Green Beans. (That makes up for a month’s worth of pasta, potatoes, and pizza, right?)

Since I had this whole Pacific Northwest feel going with salmon and blueberries, I thought I’d pair it with some simple roasted green beans. (Did you know that Oregon grows a lot of green beans? I learned that from West Wing – who says TV isn’t educational?) These are nothing like the down home, bacon-laden, boiled-til-they’re-grey green beans that I was forced to eat growing up. These are crisp and caramelized. Roasting them adds a nuttiness to the flavor that you can’t get any other way. It’s become my favorite way to serve them. My nieces once turned their collective noses up at the thought of roasted green beans until I told them they were green French fries. They bought the lie and ate them up – with ketchup, no less. (Hey, don’t judge. They ate the green beans.)

So I’m going to be rolling in blueberry goodness for the next few weeks (I hope). If you have some ideas for savory blueberry dishes, send them along. Unfortunately, the blueberry window is slowly closing, even as we speak.

Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Dijon Sauce

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A little Pacific Northwest influence in Florida

  • 4 salmon fillets (4-6 oz. each)
  • 2 T olive oil (divided)
  • 1 medium shallot (mined (about ¼ C))
  • 1 C fresh blueberries
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 1 T honey
  • 1 T Dijon mustard
  • ½ C red wine
  • 1 T fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 T butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Blueberry Dijon Sauce

  1. Sauté shallot and red pepper flakes with 1 T olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until shallots are translucent.
  2. Add blueberries and continue sautéing until blueberries begin to burst approximately, 3-4 minutes).
  3. Add honey, Dijon mustard red wine, and parsley.
  4. Reduce volume by half.
  5. Salt & pepper to taste.
  6. Remove from heat, add butter, and swirl to combine.
  7. Set aside to cool.

To prepare dish

  1. Preheat grill pan over high heat.
  2. Brush salmon fillets with remaining olive oil, add salt & pepper to taste.
  3. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side (grilling will vary depending on thickness of fillets).
  4. Top with blueberry sauce.

I like to serve this atop roasted green beans. Simply toss stemmed green beans with a little olive oil, salt, & pepper. Lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for 13-15 minutes.

this post was reblogged from my earlier site ‘Inexpensive Eating’

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