three layer salmon vegetable bake

This is one of those times that I want to be really experimental with baking. So I try out a salmon baked with various vegetables: potato, squash, broccoli, carrot and purple cabbage. The tricky thing in this combination is that the potato take much longer to cook than other vegetables; and the proportion of vegetables I use (2 vegetables to 1 fish) make it even more tricky. So my instinct is to cook the dish as three layers. The first layer is sliced potato and squash, which needs to be cooked first. On it, add a layer of shredded broccoli, carrot and cabbage, and then a layer of salmon on top. I cook this dish in the toaster oven because of the small portion size and the convenience of having a glass door. The cooking time is longer, but I have better control of the process during the experiment.

Recipe: Three layer salmon vegetable bake (for 2)

Ingredients:
- 3 oz potato (about the size of 1 very small potato), sliced to 1/8" pieces
- 1 oz festival squash, sliced to 1/8" pieces
- 1/3 cup broccoli slaw, from package (mix of broccoli, carrot and purple cabbage)
- 3-4 oz of salmon strips, 1/4" thick (I use scaled fresh trimmings)
- 2 tablespoon (TB) light mayonnaise
- 2 TB meat stock
- 2 teaspoon (tp) dijon mustard
- 1 tp honey
- 1/4 tp dried dill and lemon peel
- 1/8 tp salt
- 1/4 tp paprika

Procedure:
1. Place potato and squash slices on a baking pan. Add 2 TB meat stock. Cover with foil and bake at 300-350F in toaster oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until potato is soft. Squash cooks faster than potato. Do not allow the potato and squash to dry.
2. When the potato is soft, spread a layer of broccoli slaw on top of the potato and squash. Mix in 2 TB of light mayonnaise. Then Place the salmon strips on top of the broccoli slaw. Mix dijon mustard, honey and dill and lemon peel in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly on top of the salmon. Sprinkle salt and paprika on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350F in toaster oven for about 30 minutes. Then uncover  and bake for 10 more minutes to give the top a little browning. Serve hot.

This dish is very flavorful. The potato has absorbed the flavor of the meat stock. The mayonnaise gives the broccoli slaw a nice dress up. However, both the mayonnaise and the mustard are strong in this dish, so much so that they compete for the attention of the palate. The salt, on the other hand, heightens the flavor of the mustard and the honey. Next time, I'm going to reduce the mustard and the honey to just enough to bring up the flavor of the salmon.