Recipe · 4 minute read

This is our go-to for the nights you’ve got nothing left. One tray, about 30 minutes, hardly any washing up, and it’s just as good with a tin of salmon from the pantry as it is with fresh.

You chop an onion, open two tins and let the oven do the heavy lifting. The beans go soft and soak up all the lemony juices, the tomatoes burst, and the kale crisps up at the edges and usually goes first.

Why it’s good for you

This tray suits midlife, strength training and pregnancy alike.

Your calcium needs climb as you get older. Healthy Bones Australia recommends 1,300 mg a day for women over 50, up from 1,000 mg for younger adults, because we absorb it less easily with age, and they say food is the best way to get there. Canned salmon, kale, broccoli and beans all help, and the salmon and beans bring plenty of protein for those strength sessions.

If you’re pregnant, fish is a good source of protein and omega-3s and there’s no need to give it up. Salmon is one of the lower-mercury choices, so it isn’t among the fish pregnant women are asked to limit.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 x 400 g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 250 g cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 lemon, half sliced, half for squeezing
• 4 salmon fillets (about 150 g each), skin on or off, or 2 x 415 g cans pink or red salmon, drained
• 1 bunch broccolini, or 1 head of broccoli cut into small florets
• 4 big handfuls of kale, stems removed and leaves torn (or a bag of baby kale)
• A small handful of parsley or dill, chopped
• Greek yoghurt, to serve (optional)

Method

1. 1Start the beansHeat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). On a big lined tray, toss the beans, tomatoes, onion and garlic with 2 tablespoons of the oil, the paprika, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
2. 2Add the salmon and broccoliniPush the beans out to the edges, add the broccolini and nestle the salmon in the middle. Drizzle over the rest of the oil and lay the lemon slices on top. Roast for 8 minutes.
3. 3Add the kaleScatter the kale over everything and roast for another 4 to 6 minutes, until the edges are crispy and the salmon is opaque and flakes easily all the way through.
4. 4Finish and serveSqueeze over the rest of the lemon, throw on the herbs and put the whole tray in the middle of the table, with a bowl of yoghurt on the side.

Using tinned salmon: skip the fillets in step 2. In step 3, add the drained salmon in chunks with the kale so it warms through. The soft bones mash straight in with a fork, and you won’t notice them.

Make it your own

• Vegetarian: add a drained 400 g can of chickpeas in step 1, or 300 g cubed firm tofu in step 2. Calcium-set tofu is on the calcium-rich list too.
• Dairy-free: leave out the yoghurt and finish with extra olive oil and lemon.
• Greens: bok choy or silverbeet both work well instead of kale.

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Make it ahead

Chop the onion and garlic and drain the beans the night before, and the tray’s ready to go the minute you walk in the door. Leftovers make a good lunch wrapped up with some extra greens.

Eat refrigerated leftovers within 3 to 4 days, or within 1 day if you’re pregnant, and reheat them until they’re steaming hot (75°C) all the way through.

The takeaway

Keep a couple of tins of salmon and beans in the pantry and you’re most of the way to a dinner that’s quick, filling and good for your bones.