Horseradish Crusted Salmon & Quinoa with Collards

Passover just isn’t Passover without a whiff of nose-busting horseradish. I love horseradish year-round, especially Trader Joe's horseradish hummus! Grated horseradish root, which is is consumed at the passover Seder as the "bitter herb," is used to remind us of our ancestors suffering. If you've ever been hit hard in the sinuses by a sting of horseradish: you know suffering.

I've seen horseradish crusted salmon on restaurant menus before, so I decided to duplicate that dinner for Passover. I mixed a few tablespoons of (jarred) white horseradish with a few quirts of lemon juice and a dash of salt. I put this mixture on two salmon fillets and then sprinkled on about 1/4 cup of matzo meal for the crust. If you're making this any other time of year, or not for Passover, just use breadcrumbs in place of the matzo meal. I baked the fish at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I paired this dish with sauteed collard greens and quinoa. I had leftover quinoa in the fridge, and heated it in a pan on the stove with a bit of olive oil. It was a bit like making fried rice! Then I added a bunch of chopped collards and sauteed them together in the pan. Finally I added a dash of salt and a handful of raisins. I love combining sweet raisins to balance out the bitter flavor of the dark leafy greens. Once this dish was cooked through, Funk and I sat down to a "bitter" themed dinner that tasted pretty sweet to us!