Herb-Crusted Salmon with Israeli Couscous

I try to throw in new ingredients to my weekly menus to keep myself excited about cooking dinner. I was flipping through the Family Circle magazine that we keep in the lobby at work and saw this recipe (kind of - of course, I tweaked it!). It sounded like an interesting way to get our fish this week.

Israeli couscous looks like tapioca; the grains are like small balls. While my husband doesn’t care for regular couscous, he enjoyed this dish. I perked it up with a little EVOO and lemon to complement the salmon, which I served with the remaining lemon wedges.

I really liked the bread crumb coating on the fish. If you don’t have fresh dill, use a lesser amount of dried dill. I think it might also be good to use the zest from the lemon in the bread crumb mixture, but the lemon I was using had already been zested for another project. Next time!

Herb-crusted Salmon with Israeli Couscous

3/4 tsp sea salt
1 c. Israeli couscous
2 ½ T. Bread crumbs
2 T. Chopped fresh dill
4 (4oz) salmon filets
1/4 tsp. Black pepper
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 c. baby spinach
1/4 c. low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil

Heat oven to broil. Place nonstick foil on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

Bring 1 1/4 c. water to a boil in a medium-size pot. Add ½ tsp. Of the salt and the couscous. Cover and cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 T. Of dill, spinach, and chicken broth into cousous; let sit until spinach is wilted. Drizzle with EVOO and a squeeze of lemon.

Meanwhile, stir together bread crumbs and 1 T. Dill; set side. Sprinkle salmon with remaining 1/4 tsp. Salt and the pepper and place on prepared baking sheet. Place directly under broiler and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove salmon from oven and lower rack so it’s 6 inches from heating element. Brush salmon with mustard and sprinkle with bread crumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Generously spritz each fillet with olive oil and return to oven; broil 2 minutes to brown the top.

Serve salmon with side of couscous and remaining lemon wedges to squeeze over salmon.