I hate salmon. I know I’m supposed to like it, I know it is good for me, and I know that if it is fresh and prepared well it tastes good. But I still hate it.

So, I went looking for a salmon recipe that I could literally smother with other flavors so I could choke it down and get my omega-3s. I found one that I actually liked and Scott and Owen did too. (My picky Noah, not so much, but he’s not really my arbiter of what makes a good recipe.) If you put a spice paste and Dijon and caramelized onions on anything, I’ll probably like it.

I adapted this from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. Serves 2 (but it was enough for 3 of us).
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
1 white onion, very thinly sliced into half-moons
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400. Combine the black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to make a paste. Spread the paste all over the salmon fillets and place in a shallow baking dish. Bake until cooked through, between 10-20 minutes. (Note that your onions, below, may not be done that quickly, so you might want to wait until the onions are a quarter or halfway done to put the salmon in the oven).
Heat the olive oil over low heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until caramelized (very tender and dark brown). This can take up to 20 minutes. Add some water, apple cider, or stock if the pan is drying out and to speed the process a bit.Serve caramelized onions over the baked salmon. I would serve this with brown rice, a whole grain-based pilaf, or quinoa, and steamed broccoli.