Cook: Nicole Medina, 11
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Despite her young age, Nicole says she has high cholesterol levels and learned that eating salmon can help to lower the amount of fat in her blood. “So I decided to incorporate that into the recipe,” she says. “Kids usually think that just because it’s healthy, it’s gonna taste bad,” she explains. “But there’s a lot of recipes and they’re all really healthy and they taste delicious.”
Nicole on the First Lady’s dancing: “Pretty good.”
Ingredients:
- Juice from 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillet
- 1/4 cup whole wheat linguine
- 6 asparagus spears, chopped
- 1/4 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves removed and chopped
- 2 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated Pecorino
Preparation:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, 1 teaspoon olive oil, honey, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a medium sauté pan over moderate heat, warm 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the salmon and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the salmon over, add the orange sauce, and continue to cook until the salmon is golden and cooked through, about 4 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
- In a medium pot of boiling salter water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus and transfer to a bowl.
- In a medium sauté pan over moderate heat, warm the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, and basil and sauté, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic mixture to the pasta, sprinkle the cheese, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Serve the salmon alongside the pasta with asparagus.
273 calories; 22g protein; 14g carbohydrates; 14g fat (2g saturated fat); 157mg sodium
Makes 2 servings