TASTY TRAYBAKE. Honey-Miso Salmon and Broccolini Traybake, a meal featuring a savory-sweet, umami-rich marinade for meaty, fat-rich salmon, takes only 30 minutes to prepare. (Milk Street via AP)

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #2 (February 3, 2025), page 14.

By Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street

Traybakes are the ultimate in weeknight ease, but they often suffer from unexciting flavors and a lack of textural contrast. For a dinner that’s anything but lackluster, we lean on a trio of high-impact ingredients and add the vegetable and fish in stages, so everything comes out of the oven perfectly cooked.

In this recipe from our cookbook Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year, we combine miso, soy sauce, and honey to make a savory-sweet, umami-rich marinade for meaty, fat-rich salmon. Some of the mixture is set aside and combined with orange juice and zest, creating a bright sauce for drizzling over the finished dish.

While the fish marinates, the broccolini gets a head start roasting in the oven. Once the quick-cooking salmon is added, the traybake is nearly done. Roast, skin-side down, until the fish flakes and the broccolini is lightly charred and tender-crisp.

Drizzle with the miso-orange sauce and garnish with fresh scallions, red pepper flakes, or both. Serve with steamed rice, and perhaps a leafy green salad.

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Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

2 tablespoons white or red miso

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons neutral oil, divided

Four 6-ounce center-cut salmon fillets (1 to 1¼ inches thick), patted dry

1 tablespoon grated orange zest, plus 2 tablespoons orange juice

1 pound Broccolini, trimmed, or broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch florets

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit with a rack in the middle position. In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, soy sauce, honey, and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Transfer half of the mixture to a wide, shallow dish; add the salmon skin-side up and set aside. Stir the orange zest and juice into the mixture remaining in the bowl; set aside.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the broccolini with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Distribute in an even layer, then roast until beginning to brown at the edges, about 15 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Using a wide metal spatula, scrape up and flip the broccolini, pushing it to the edges. Add the salmon, skin-side down, to the center of the baking sheet. Roast until the fish flakes easily and the Broccolini is lightly charred and tender-crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with the reserved miso-orange sauce.

Optional garnish: Toasted sesame oil or toasted sesame seeds or sliced scallions or red pepper flakes or a combination

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