Food

Three glorious words: one, tray, dinner

Lilly Higgins: This salmon dish is perfect for getting the kids to help

This dish is equally delicous with chicken breasts, the marinade really prevents the chicken from drying out

Lilly Higgins's face
Lilly Higgins
Wed Sep 27 2017 - 06:00

Three glorious words strung together can make my day: one, tray, dinner. It’s just so brilliant to be able to throw only one tray of food into the oven. So often I have several on the go.

A pot for sauces or gravies, different trays all for cooking different things in the oven and of course, the mountain of washing up after an hour of pleading with my kids to actually eat their dinner.

You could make this even easier by using ready-made pesto as a base for your salmon marinade

Now that school has started back up I’m adopting a “one tray to rule them all” policy. And everyone is having the same dinner. I’m surprised and delighted that it’s actually working.

This one-tray salmon dish is perfect for getting kids to help with too, as the basil needs to be torn and the peppers roughly chopped. Nobody does rough chopping better than a four year old. You could make this even easier by using ready-made pesto as a base for your salmon marinade. You can just add the paprika and lemon zest.

READ MORE

You will have some added texture from the pine nuts and parmesan but it will still taste delicious. I always add herbs when I’m cooking then add more fresh herbs to the finished dish. Here I’ve scattered the dish with fresh basil leaves but also made this gorgeous basil dressing. It’s so delicious and can be made the day before and kept in the fridge.

Any leftover is perfect for dressing pasta or bean salads. I usually make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for up to a week, adding splashes of it to various things when they need a boost of flavour. This dish is equally delicious with chicken breasts, the marinade really prevents the chicken from drying out.

The basil is sweet and has an aniseed aromatic quality that is really delcious with fish

I love smoked sweet paprika and do use it quite a bit. It’s mild enough for children without being too boring for adults, so a real crowd-pleaser. The basil is sweet and has an aniseed aromatic quality that is really delcious with fish.

If you’re feeding more than four people this recipe doubles really well and is great for feeding a big group.