Curtis Stone’s Easy 3-Ingredient Dinner Is a Weeknight Hero

Even a world-renowned chef needs to make an easy weeknight dinner from time to time. It was a particularly windy day when I sat down with food personality, Curtis Stone, over a hearty lunch. Stone recently paired up with Saratoga Spring Water to curate a Michelin-inspired menu for Miami's Art Basel week. So, during his content filming break, we dipped into healthy greens, cucumbers, and a delectable salmon—a similar dish to what he makes for his two young children at home.

It’s no secret that Stone has a packed schedule. That’s why he turns to a dish with limited ingredients that he’ll already have in the house but can cook up in a pinch. “If you take a piece of salmon, what you're eating now,” he pointed to my plate. "And you grill it or pan-fry it, it's super easy to cook.”

Stone adds that it’s a simple recipe that any home cook can whip up in 10 minutes—a go-to that he uses when he’s “got nothing in the house.” All you need is salmon, broccoli, and oranges.

How to Make Curtis Stone's 3-Ingredient Salmon Dinner

First things first, you’ll need to sear the salmon. “You can season it—hot pan—on both sides until it's golden brown.” The seasoning is optional, but salmon usually benefits from freshly ground pepper and kosher salt. The protein should only take approximately five minutes to cook. To be sure, simply scrape the salmon with a fork. If it flakes easily, then you can take it off the heat.

Then grab your green vegetable of choice. “Broccoli, or any green, to be honest, but broccoli that you can either oven roast with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, or you could boil it,” Stone said. Whether it’s fresh or frozen broccoli is up to your preference. If you’re wondering what’s so special about searing salmon and boiling broccoli, just know that the chef’s secret is in the third ingredient: oranges.

Remove the skin from the orange and cut approximately a third of the orange into mini segments (use your best judgment here depending on how much salmon and broccoli you’re cooking up). Then squeeze out the rest of the orange with your brute strength or, if you lack strength like me, a citrus juicer. Pour the excess orange juice into a pan over medium to high heat and reduce it.

“You reduce it probably by half,” Stone explained. “So if you start with a cup, you end up with half a cup or a third of a cup.” Once reduced, the orange juice becomes “sticky and syrupy and really bright, but also sweet,” Stone said. As a person who protests scrubbing dishes clean, I recommend using a nonstick pan here.

All that's left is to “dribble the juice straight over the salmon and broccoli.” Place the previously cut orange segments on top of the broccoli and salmon or on the side. Voilà, you now have a delicious three-ingredient dinner. You’ll never want to cook salmon in any other way again. Which simple weeknight meal is up next, chef?

Read the original article on ALLRECIPES