By Christie Vanover | Published June 1, 2013 | Last Updated December 28, 2022
My husband read an article that featured five foods that are supposed to make you look younger. He must have scoured the house for these super foods because when I got home from work, all my tomatoes were gone and he asked me when I was going grocery shopping again.
The report claimed that sweet potatoes, wild salmon, tomatoes, citrus fruits and leafy greens help your skin in all sorts of magical ways. So, at my husband’s request, I went to Whole Foods after work Friday and bought these naturally magical foods. My goal was to cook them all together in one dish, and it actually worked.
The salmon had a few bones, so I used my handy kitchen tweezers and plucked them out. Hubby hates fish bones.
I julienned the sweet potato and tossed it in orange juice. Chopped the kale and tossed it in grapefruit juice. The salmon took a quick swim in some lemon juice. The tomatoes…well…I just shoved them in there. I was out of ideas at that point.
I prepared this dish in two single-serve baking dishes because it made for a really pretty presentation. If you don’t have two dishes like this, just use a 13 x 9 baking dish. The kitchen smelled so good when it was cooking. The orange juice and sweet potatoes just filled the air with a sweet aroma.
When it came out of the oven, I loved the variety of texture. The kale was slightly sour and crispy (like kale chips). The salmon was perfectly tender. The tomatoes popped in my mouth and didn’t even need added flavor. The sweet potatoes were like ribbons of pasta.
My husband devoured the dish. I was shocked that he loved it so much. His only complaint was that he wished I had added a little sugar to the sweet potatoes. This is supposed to be a super food dish, I told him. Sugar is definitely not a super food.
You’re welcome to add some sugar or honey, if you like your sweet potatoes sweeter, but I liked them just the way they were. I feel younger looking already 🙂
Baked Super Foods: Salmon, Kale & Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 lb. filet of wild salmon
- 1 orange
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 ½ tsp. course ground black pepper
- 1 pat butter
- 12 cherry or grape tomatoes
Instructions
- I prepared this dish in two single-serve baking dishes. You could also prepare it in one 13 x 9 pan.
- Julienne the sweet potato into strips. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon orange juice, ½ tsp. orange zest, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper. Place half on one side of each baking dish.
- Rinse and chop the leafy part of the kale. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon grapefruit juice, ½ tsp. grapefruit zest, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper. Place half on the other side of each baking dish.
- Cut the salmon filet in half. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ tsp. lemon zest, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper. Place a filet in each dish between the sweet potatoes and kale, skin side down. Top with a pat of butter and a lemon slice.
- Place 3 cherry tomatoes on the sides of each filet.
- Bake in a 400-degree oven for 25 minutes.
The nutrition information is an estimate created using an online nutrition calculator
Kim says
FINALLY had a chance to try this after it’s been pinned in my recipes album for YEARS! It was DELICIOUS! Definitely a keeper…
Christine says
Love this – I’m eager to get started and I love the presentation of the single-serving baking dishes. But I’m dying to know what brand of baking dishes these are. I want to get some and these I like!!
zestuous says
Thanks Christine. I baked them in a Le Creuset baker. http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-191832/Le+Creuset+Cherry+Heritage+Oval+Baker+3+qt
Rivka says
Thank you for sharing this unique and delicious recipe. Made it tonight. My husband and I both loved it! I added a clove of roasted garlic (i roasted it previously) to the kale. I also added a touch of roasted garlic to the fish, along with some paprika and a sprig of parsley. Yum.
Kallise says
I’d love to try this recipe. How do you recommend arranging everything in a 13 x 9 in baking pan?
Tammi says
Hi. I just made this for my husband. We wanted to take a break from fried food. I placed the kale on a metal baking sheet, the sweet potatoes in a shallow porcelain casserole and the salmon in a separate, shallow porcelain casserole. The oven was preheated at 400 degrees Farenheit. I put the potatoes in for the full twenty minutes, the kale went in for fifteen minutes and the salmon filets were in for ten minutes. The kale crisped up along the outer edges of the pan more than the inside, but the kale was not soggy anywhere. Because the salmon filets were wild, skinless and boneless, I placed them on lemon slices to keep them from potentially sticking. With basting the salmon filets did not require additional lemon slices on top. We both enjoyed it.
I would not add sweetener to the sweet potatoes; roasting sweetens them. However, if you feel it is needed, I would suggest honey for the sweet potatoes’ marinade, but only in a tiny amount. It is healthier for you versus white or brown sugar.
zestuous says
Kallise,
I would lay the 13×9 pan in front of you so that it is longer than it is wide. Then, lay the fish in the center vertically, and arrange the sweet potatoes on one side and the kale on the other.
Tammi,
Your suggestions are great. Thanks for offering an alternative cooking method.
Matt Cox says
Thanks for sharing! I’m going to use this as the basis for my meal tonight. Will be doing the sweet potatoes and the salmon. Kale, whilst really tasty, isn’t so widely available here – so I’ll be trying something with spinach (another food stuff that’s meant to be super healthy) and asparagus.
Laura Dembowski says
I love salmon, kale, and sweet potatoes but have never thought to put them together like this. I love the idea and it looks absolutely fabulous!
zestuous says
Thanks Laura.
Julia says
This looks amazing & so quick & easy to prepare. I will definitely be giving this recipe a try. Thanks so much for sharing it!
zestuous says
You’re welcome Julia. Enjoy.