Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Carrots and Quinoa

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on salmon fillets (approx. 150g each)
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 lemon, zested and halved
• 600g carrots, scrubbed and halved lengthways
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g white quinoa, rinsed
• 80g baby spinach
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 150g Greek yoghurt, to serve
• flaky sea salt, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, fronds picked, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 210°C fan. Tip the carrots onto a large baking tray with the olive oil, ground cumin and smoked paprika, season generously with salt and pepper, and toss until every piece is slick. Spread them in a single layer with space between them — crowd the tray and they steam instead of roast.
2. Roast for 30–35 minutes, turning once halfway, until the carrots are tender with properly caramelised edges. The spices need this oven time to bloom in the oil — raw cumin and paprika taste dusty, bloomed they taste of themselves.
3. Meanwhile, put the rinsed quinoa and vegetable stock in a medium saucepan, bring to the boil, then drop to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 13–15 minutes until the stock is absorbed and you can see the little tails unfurled from each grain — that's your doneness tell.
4. Pull the pan off the heat, stir through the baby spinach and extra virgin olive oil, lid back on, and leave to steam for 2 minutes. The residual heat wilts the spinach without turning it army-green. Taste and season — quinoa drinks salt, so don't be shy.
5. While the carrots finish, make the glaze. Whisk the maple syrup, wholegrain mustard, grated garlic and lemon zest together in a small bowl. The garlic is raw here and going straight into a hot oven on the fish — grate it fine so it melts into the glaze rather than catching and burning to bitter flecks on top of the salmon. Watch it during the final bake; if you see it darkening past pale gold, tent loosely with foil.
6. With 10 minutes of carrot time left, push the carrots to the edges of the tray and nestle the salmon fillets skin-side down in the centre. Pat the salmon dry first — water means steam, steam means no glaze adhesion. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, then spoon the glaze generously over each one.
7. Return the tray to the oven for 8–10 minutes until the glaze is sticky and burnished and the salmon flakes with gentle pressure but still has a slight blush at the centre. It carries on cooking off the heat, so pull it a touch under.
8. Taste the quinoa one more time and adjust the seasoning now — at the stove, not at the table.
9. Spoon the quinoa and spinach into four bowls, top each with a glazed salmon fillet and a portion of roasted carrots. Add a generous spoonful of Greek yoghurt alongside, scatter the dill fronds over everything, press a pinch of flaky sea salt onto the crisp salmon skin, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and finish with a squeeze of lemon from the wedges over each bowl — the acid lifts the maple and cuts the richness of the fish.