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Salmon for Everyone, Even the Baby

By March 13, 2018March 17th, 2018126 Comments


It gives me great pleasure
to cede the floor to guest-posterย 
Jenna Helwigย today.ย Jenna is the senior food editor at Parents Magazine and author ofย Baby-Led Feeding,ย an inspiring manual for raising good eaters and kickstarting the family meal habit nice and early. Yes, your baby can eat the salmon youโ€™re looking at above. Read on for the recipe and for a fun little surprise. ย Take it away, Jenna.ย 

You may wonder why this dinner party-worthy (but Tuesday night-easy) salmon dish is in a book called Baby-Led Feeding. This is baby food? Yes! And grown-up food and teenager food, kid food, and toddler food.

Baby-led feeding is my take on baby-led weaning, the increasingly popular method of introducing babies to solid foods. Instead of being spoon-fed purees, babies eat finger foods right from the start, grasping soft foods in their sweet, chubby little fingers. Baby-led feeding encourages babies to really get to know their food, to smell it, touch it, play with it, taste it, and yes, probably drop a lot of it on the floor (at least at first). It helps develop hand-eye coordination and teaches babies to recognize and rely on their own hunger cues.

But, my favorite part about baby-led feeding is that babies can take part in family meals from an earlier age, eating the same foods that their parents, caregivers, and siblings doโ€”like the family meals in Baby-Led Feeding such as Sweet Potato and Quinoa Burgers, Spiced Lamb Meatballs, Slow-Cooker Maple-Dijon Pork, or this Mother-in-Law Salmon.

My mother-in-law, Iolanda was born and raised in southern Italy. When she was 16, a man in her village 10 years her senior (my father-in-law!) chose her to be his wife. They had barely met when they were married. Soon after, they immigrated to Montreal, Canada. Within five years Iolanda had three sons. Iolanda didnโ€™t have an easy life those first couple of decades, learning how to be the wife that her traditional husband expected, navigating a foreign culture, learning a new language, suffering through ridiculously frigid winters, and wrangling three rambunctious boys.

But, Iolanda survived and, in time, the best word I can think of, is bloomed. When I met her more than 15 years ago I discovered a petite, chic woman who was bursting with warmth and the center of a large group of devoted friends. She begins to sing at the table with the least provocation; it takes only a tiny bit more prompting to get her dancing. She is crazy for children and unfailingly generous, perhaps most of all with her endlessly delicious cooking. Her lasagna, with 15 layers of homemade pasta, is legendary. Her meatballs inspire moans of pleasure, and she can make simple blanched broccoli mouthwatering. (The secret is well-salted water and garlic, naturally.)

This salmon is a mainstay in Iolandaโ€™s repertoire. Slathered in a Dijon mustard, lemon, olive oil, parsley, and garlic mixture with a dollop of mayo for creaminess, the fish simply bakes in the oven. It really is dead easy. My mother-in-law prepares a side of salmon and then cuts it into pieces, but itโ€™s faster (and more budget-friendly when youโ€™re cooking for a smaller crowd) to start with individual filets.


GIVEAWAY ALERT! Iโ€™m giving away a copy of Baby-Led Feedingย to two lucky readers โ€” just leave a comment to be eligible. Contest ends Thursday, March 15 at noon ET. Good luck! UPDATE: The winners have been notified. Thank you for playing!

For more Jenna, follow her on Instagram or, for baby and toddler ideas, here.ย 

Mother-in-Law Salmon

Like many instinctive cooks, Iolanda isnโ€™t much for measuring, so even though Iโ€™ve eaten this delicious salmon dish countless times it took me a few tries to nail the proportionsโ€”experimentation that was well worth it.ย ย Note: If your salmon still has the skin on it, no problem. Once the fish is cooked you can lift the fillets up off the skin easily with a spatula, leaving the skin behind on the baking pan.ย Makes 3-4 servings

1 pound salmon, cut into 3 or 4 fillets
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat the oven to 375ยฐF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the salmon fillets on the parchment. Sprinkle with the salt (except for babyโ€™s portion) and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mustard. Stir in the parsley and garlic.

Spoon the olive oil mixture over the salmon fillets. Roast the fish until it flakes easily in the center when tested with a fork or knife, 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness. If youโ€™re serving a baby, cool and flake the fish with a fork.

Mother-in-Law Salmon from Baby-Led Feeding by Jenna Helwig. ยฉ Copyright 2018 by Jenna Helwig. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Photo by Lauren Volo.

Related: A Picky Eater Taxonomy (still one of my favorites)

126 Comments

  • Avatar Bailey says:

    Baby is due ANY day now, and I look forward to introducing foods to him/her via baby led feeding!

  • Avatar Stephanie says:

    Iโ€™m having a baby this month! This sounds like a really sensible approach to family eating. Iโ€™d love to have the book!

  • Avatar Ines Lee Santos says:

    Ha! I have a 7 month old that I feed with a combination of purees and finger foods. Iโ€™ve been renewing Jennaโ€™s other book from the library on repeat, would love to have this one!

  • Avatar Jess O'C says:

    Looking forward to trying this easy recipe. Iโ€™m always looking for foods to entice my two-year-old daughter to eat more adult foods. Iโ€™m also trying to make sure that she doesnโ€™t know that chicken nuggets exist. Thanks for this!

  • Avatar Suzie says:

    So simple yet sounds delicious!

  • Holly Minion says:

    I have an eight month old baby and we are doing baby-led weaning right now! Thanks so much for featuring this book. Iโ€™m going to check it out!

  • Avatar Diane says:

    I am eager to try this recipe as a friend has recently gifted me w/salmon he caught on a recent expedition:)

  • Avatar Cynthia D. says:

    Looks like an awesome book!

  • Avatar Pia says:

    This looks great addition to our meal rotation! As a new mother to a ten month old I am trying to find recipes that are easy, delicious and healthy for all three of us.

  • Avatar Sarah says:

    Oh, thank you for this! I have an 8 month old and I have been slow to dip my toes into introducing things other then purees, but it is time. I really appreciate the post and the introduction to Jennaโ€™s work. Dinner a Love Story will make me brave!

  • Avatar Marsha Hanzel says:

    This salmon sounds lovely.

  • Avatar Allison says:

    This looks delicious! I like the idea of baby-led feeding but feel intimidated, too (I have a 10-month old). Jennaโ€™s book looks like a great resource.

  • Avatar coral sayer says:

    Iโ€™ve got a little buddy Iโ€™m feeding and am always looking for new ideas, Iโ€™d love this book!

  • Avatar Amy says:

    I have struggled to find easy and tasty meal ideas that both my son and I can enjoy together instead of making two separate meals every time! Really looking forward to trying this recipe out for my 9 month old and sharing more meals together. Thanks!

  • Avatar Karen says:

    What a great approach!

  • Avatar Bets says:

    We are expecting our second baby soon, and I would love to have the book! My first is a good eater so far, but we will see how that goes as she progresses in toddlerhood!

  • Avatar Colleen says:

    Iโ€™m pregnant with my first child, so this giveaway is great timing!

  • Avatar Alyssa says:

    Weโ€™re just about to start solids with our 5 month old girl and this would be perfect!

  • Avatar Nancy says:

    Just got the very good news that my sister is having a baby, and this would be a lovely present for her!

  • Grace says:

    I just had my fifth baby (after a long break) in November and would love to win a copy of this book. So much has changed with regard to infant feeding since I had my first daughter 16 years ago. Back then it was all purรฉes in ice cube trays and grinding grains in a coffee grinder to make baby porridges. I would love to learn more about this idea!

  • Avatar Teresa says:

    Finally, baby recipes that I donโ€™t have to convert from the metric system! Everything is always British!

  • Avatar Kaitlin says:

    My daughter is 5.5 months old and Iโ€™m so excited to start baby led weaning with her in a few weeks! Iโ€™d love a copy of this book!

  • Avatar Liz says:

    Weโ€™re expecting our first baby in May, looking forward watching and helping her explore food. This book would be a great help!

  • Avatar Kelly says:

    I would love to win a copy. I have a four month old and am looking forward to starting to feed her solids in a few months ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Cynthia says:

    My 17th great-nephew is due any day. Iโ€™d love to win a copy to gift his parents. I believe in this method after watching my own five grandchildren (now all ravenous eaters aged 2-7) be introduced to food in this vein. Makes so much sense and itโ€™s so fun to see babies eating salmon and blueberries and pickles and gnawing on chops.

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