This low FODMAP sheet pan dinner uses one of my favorite sesame marinades on salmon, bok choy and turnips. You can swap in different low FODMAP vegetables or fillets of fish. It’s a versatile, quick weeknight meal idea that’s full of flavor, even without the garlic and onion!
The last time I cooked a dish without garlic or onion was…never.
Okay, it might have been a few weeks ago, when I made this Ayurvedic dish.
But like any good girl who earned her cooking stripes in Italy, alliums make my culinary world go round.
Giving them up was the scariest prospect of starting my low FODMAP diet this month, and the reason why so many SIBO warriors before me have had to learn to subsist entirely off their own creations.
Unless you’re ordering sushi or plain salads, or loading up at the steamed vegetable hot plate station at Whole Foods, it’s pretty difficult to find options that don’t have garlic and onion. Even the pantry items I carefully sourced without added sugar were off the table. Store bought sauces, dressings, broths and soups—even rotisserie chicken uses garlic or garlic powder as a rub I realized this week, to my intense dismay.
So even though the first thing I did when I returned home from Hawaii was throw out my neck, the second thing I did was get in the kitchen and start batch cooking some low FODMAP food.
There’s now homemade plain chicken stock and carrot marinara in the fridge, a creamy parsnip soup, and garlic oil to drizzle on it. Since FODMAPS aren’t fat soluble, you can get away with infusing oils with these alliums to partially get their flavor in your meals.
This sesame sheet pan salmon was the total winner of last week’s haul. It got me to break out of my regular veggie comfort zone and turn to baby turnips and bok choy—two Japanese staples that go underused in my kitchen.
The trick for sheet pan meals is making sure that whatever ingredients you choose have a similar cook time. With chicken, I lean towards sturdier pantry or root vegetables since it takes 45 minutes or so for the skin to render and thick legs to cook through. But fish is lightning fast (8 minutes) and needs tender veggies to match.
I had never roasted bok choy before going over to a friend’s house in LA for Jewish Christmas Eve. She very adorably bought all the ingredients for this chicken dish (another one-pan wonder) and made the bok choy to go on the side. It cooked up super quick, the thicker bulb becoming its usual tender core with a slight bite, but the leaves getting crispy. The best of both worlds.
For this sheet pan salmon recipe, I get the turnips in first so that they caramelize slightly, before adding the boy choy, sesame-ginger marinade, and the salmon. Once they braise in the last 8 minutes of cooking and soak up the sauce, they get tangy and slightly pickled.
Ginger is central to my low FODMAP strategy going forward, as it adds so much wonderful flavor. But in general making the most out of “primary condiments”–gluten-free soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and the like–helps keep you from feeling like you’re just shoveling plain grub in your mouth for the sake of eating.
I’ll have more low FODMAP recipes coming your way in the weeks to come, and my goal is that those of you who have the joy of eating alliums, don’t even notice. I promise that you won’t in this sheet pan dinner.
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
p.s. Are you looking for a meal plan to kick your butt into gear after a slow start to the 2018 resolution season? Early bird pricing is available for the next session of the 4 Weeks to Wellness Course! There are only 5 spots left before it goes back up.
p.p.s. If you’re looking to save time in your low FODMAP kitchen, check out some of these fabulous store bought sauces, spice mixes and condiments.
Low FODMAP Sheet Pan Dinner with Salmon and Bok Choy
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 10 baby turnips with their greens, if possible
- 4 baby bok choy sliced 1-2 inch thick (see note)
- Four 6-ounce salmon fillets skin-on
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, tamari, sesame oil, ginger, sesame seeds, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and cayenne (if using).
- Remove the turnip greens and toss any dried out or gnarly ones. Roughly chop the rest. Quarter the baby turnips (you want 1/2-inch thickness for the wedges).
- On a baking sheet, toss the turnips with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season lightly with salt. Roast in the oven until tender and beginning to shrivel, 7 minutes. Remove the pan and add the bok choy, turnip greens with half the marinade. Toss until combined and arrange in an even layer. Nestle the salmon fillets (skin-side down) into the vegetables, making sure each piece is making contact with the pan. Drizzle the remaining marinade over the salmon and use your spoon to make sure they’re fully coated.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and roast until the greens are beginning to crisp and the salmon is tender, about 7 minutes for medium-rare.
- Serve the salmon immediately over rice.
Notes
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!
I just made this for my family (using coconut aminos since I can’t use soy or wheat) and it was amazing! My 4-year old daughter loved it which says a lot because she is a picky eater and I would never have thought braised bok choy would be on her list of veggies she would eat. I loved it that it came together very fast once I had prepped the veggies, the oven didn’t need to be on for very long, and the cleanup was very minimal. Thank you for this recipe, and for all the others that keep families of us AIP’ers well fed and happy.
so wonderful to hear Seanna! it’s a staple in my rotation now too xo