Garlic Crusted Salmon with Tomato Basil Salsa

Salmon is one of my addictions, and one of my favorite things to eat for dinner. There's endless possibilites with it. It goes so well with any kind of citrus, with mangoes, pineapple, sriracha for a spicy version, with pesto, etc. SO MANY WAYS! Yesterday I hit the farmer's market for the first time, and there were so many fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs that I'm not used to! I went to the local farms alot up at home, but different areas of the country bring different types of produce. This particular farmer's market was huge. I walked around for a solid hour, completely mesmorized by all the colors. It was like a kid in a candy store. One of my biggest gripes from home was fresh herbs. I LOVE using fresh herbs, but they're so expensive. And if not used immediatlely, which can be hard, they turn black and you end up wasting half of it. Basil is the big offender. I found JUMBO bags of beautiful green basil for ONE DOLLAR. If I thought I could use 12 bags of basil in one week, I would have bought them.

After visiting the farmer's market, I did my usual weekly meal planning backwards. I bought what I wanted and what looked good, and then made a menu to include what I bought. I found this awesome looking salmon recipe that I knew would go perfectly with the fresh basil and HUGE juicy tomatoes I got. I made the salmon tonight, accompanied with baked purple sweet potato coins (I have been looking for these at home EVERYWHERE, and I was overjoyed when I finally saw them at the market) and leftover brown rice (because carbs). The whole meal was delicious and filling. I wish I could eat it again for snack.

// gluten free

Ingredients:
6 oz piece of salmon, skin on
1 spicy purple garlic clove (another farmer's market find, you can use regular garlic)
1/4 tsp Maine sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
fresh lemon zest
juice of 1/2 a lemon
drizzle of olive oil

For the salsa:
1/3 beefsteak tomato
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
fresh ground black peper
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
drizzle of oil

Directions: In a bowl or dish, mix together garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Mix until smooth, and pour over salmon in a greased baking dish. Cook at 350 degress for about 35 minutes, or until the salmon flakes apart easily when a fork is twisted in the middle. While the salmon cooks, prepare the salsa. Dice up the tomato and chop basil. In another dish, combine the tomato and basil with the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until salmon is cooked. Remove salmon from oven, top with salsa, and serve. *tip: the longer you let the marinade soak on both the salmon and the salsa, the more flavor!
Recipe adapted from thecozyapron.com