I love using fresh spices and turmeric root and ginger root are two of my favorite. When I lived in Costa Rica, turmeric root was everywhere as it grew easily in the tropical climate. When I returned to the U.S., it was hard to find fresh turmeric. I recently discovered that the local grocery store by my house now carries turmeric root. I was so excited! Now I could cook and make tea with it.
(Turmeric is the orange in the upper left-hand corner, ginger is to the right of the turmeric, below the ginger is garlic, and next to the garlic is onion.)
One of my favorite meals to prepare with turmeric is baked salmon and sautéed kale. Cooking these with both turmeric and ginger brings an incredible flavor to the meal, as well as many healing effects. Both are known to aid in digestion, as anti-inflammatories, and as powerful aids in cancer prevention. So you not only get great flavor, you also boost your body’s defenses – not a bad deal at all.
So the next time you are looking to add a new flavor to a meal, grab some ginger and turmeric to satisfy your taste buds and send some healing to your body.
- 1 full wild-caught sockeye salmon fillet (enough for 2 people)
- ½ medium-sized yellow onion, cut into thin strips
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or diced
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger root, skin scraped off with a spoon, chopped finely
- 1 inch piece fresh turmeric root, skin scraped off with a spoon, chopped finely
- 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 head organic kale, washed, leaves cut away from the stems and then chopped coarsely
- 1 organic delicate squash
- 2 Tablespoons organic butter
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 425. Chop the ends off of the delicate squash. Slice in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Place upside down in a casserole dish. Fill the casserole dish with water to cover the squash halfway.
- Place in heated oven. Allow to cook for 30-40 minutes. Squash are done when soft when pricked with a fork.
- After the squash has cooked for 25 minutes, start preparing the kale.
- Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a cast-iron or non-stick skillet. Place ¾ of the ginger, turmeric, garlic and onion in the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the kale. Stir to combine. Add a few dashes of salt and pepper. Add more oil as needed. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Stir again. While kale is cooking, prepare the salmon.
- Place the salmon filet in a casserole dish. Spread the remaining garlic, ginger, turmeric, and onion over the filet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a few drizzles of olive oil on top. Place in 425 oven. Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes. Salmon is done with the filet flakes easily with a fork.
- Remove kale from burner. Remove squash from oven. Leave salmon in oven but turn the oven off.
- Divide the kale among two plates. Place one half of the squash on each of two plates. Sprinkle squash with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of butter to each half of squash. Remove salmon from oven. Cut salmon in half. Place one half of the salmon on each of two plates. Finish with another sprinkle of salt and pepper if desired.
- Enjoy!
- Buen provecho!