Cooked salmon
Salmon and sweet potato fries makes a yummy and very healthy dinner, and it’s easy to cook, too. You’ll need the following things: a fillet of salmon (salmon with the bones already cut out, which is most salmon you’ll find at the store). We get about 1/4 pound per person, but little kids need less. Also, some sweet potatoes: about one per person. Get long skinny ones if you can. And some olive oil or safflower oil. You’ll also need a good sharp knife to cut up the sweet potatoes.
Baking sweet potatoes
First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel the sweet potatoes with your knife or with a vegetable peeler (that’s easier). Cut the sweet potatoes up into thickish french fries this way: cut them in half the short way. Then cut them in half the long way. Then slice up the quarters into fries. If any seem too wide, cut them in half again. Pour three tablespoons of oil on to a cookie sheet and put the sweet potatoes on the cookie sheet. Toss them in the oil until they have oil all over them and put them in the oven.
Now, put the salmon on another cookie sheet or in a roasting pan, skin side down. Pour another tablespoon of olive oil over the top of the salmon. Wait about five minutes and then put the salmon in the oven with the sweet potatoes. After you put the salmon in, take out the sweet potato fries and stir them around, then put them back in.
The sweet potatoes are done when they are soft enough to cut with the side of a fork, and they’re even better when they begin to turn a little brown/black around the edges. The salmon is done when it turns a lighter color all the way through to the center. You’ll need to take it out of the oven and cut the middle with a knife to see if it is done.
Serve with some green salad (cut up lettuce) with a little vinegar. On the salmon, my kids like a little lemon juice. On the fries, they like tahini-garlic sauce, but the fries are also good with plain yogurt or hummus or just a little salt. Or try tossing the fries with a little red pepper or brown sugar before you cook them.
More about Chinook food
Bibliography and further reading about Chinook food:
