Five-Spice-Glazed Salmon with Sesame Green Beans

This recipe must be the fastest, simplest, cleanest way to get delicious salmon and veggies on the table on a busy night. Throw together a quick marinade for the fish, line a cooking tray with some tin foil, trim the beans and heat the broiler. Pop everything together on the same tray, broil it all for mere minutes (although don't be like me and try to multi-task by turning away to pay an overdue parking ticket online while it's under the broiler since the cooking is so quick you'll have slightly charred fish 'n' beans if you do) and it's all done. Throw away the sticky tin foil and that's it for cleanup. Austin insisted that blackened fish is the way he prefers it (gotta love the forgiving attitude) and we hid the fact that the green beans were now, in fact, brown by topping them with toasted sesame seeds. It ended up all being good... and even better at room temperature when Q and I ate it later that evening. Light, delicious and totally hit the spot on a beautiful summer night. Nobody was standing at the oven and nobody was standing at the sink either. Doesn't get any better than that.

Five-Spice-Glazed Salmon with Sesame Green Beans
serves 4

1/4 cup honey
4 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
2 large cloves garlic, minced
four 6-oz skin-on salmon fillets (preferably wild), pin bones and scales removed
1 lb slender green beans, trimmed
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp lemon juice

In a small bowl, whisk the honey, soy sauce, five-spice powder and garlic. Put the salmon skin side down on a large plate and pour the honey mixture over it. Flip the fillets so they are skin side up. Let the fish marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler and heat to high. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with tin foil.

Place the green beans on one side of the foil and toss lightly with the canola and sesame oils; season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon skin side down on the other end of the baking sheet. Brush the salmon with any remaining marinade from the plate.

Broil the salmon and green beans for 3 minutes. Toss the green beans with tongs and continue to broil until the salmon is just cooked and the beans are crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Toss the green beans with the sesame seeds and lemon juice and serve.

Rest of the week

July 24 Ordered Greek food

July 25 Salmon with green beans and roasted new potatoes