Salmon Salad with Spicy Nuts and Cilantro Dressing

Hey, everybody! For my meal on Wednesday, I made a delicious and healthy salmon salad. On the weekend, my parents went to a restaurant and came home with glowing reviews of the food. My mom described her dinner: salmon served on a bed of field greens with a lime-cilantro dressing and spicy walnuts. I loved the idea of that so much that I recreated the dish.

Salmon Salad with Spicy Nuts and Cilantro Dressing
Serves 5

Ingredients

1.5 lbs wild salmon filet
1 tsp ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large head red-leaf lettuce
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup pecans
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder

For dressing:
3/4 a bunch cilantro
1/2 of a Granny Smith apple, seeds removed and core on
The juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1 1/2 jalapeño peppers
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil (start with a 1/4, and adjust as needed)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Make a tray out of tin foil by folding over the sides and folding them up so they are rigid. Rub salmon with cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic. Then, drizzle 2 tbsp of the olive oil on top.

2. Thoroughly rinse the lettuce in a large bowl of cold water and dry with a salad spinner. Coarsley chop and make a bed of it on each plate. Sprinkle the chunks of pepper and tomato on the lettuce.

3. Heat a small skillet on medium heat with the remaining olive oil. Add nuts and spices and sautee for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Once the nuts have cooled, chop them just a little bit (you want them to be no smaller than your fingernail).

4. Remove the stem from the jalapeño. Half lengthwise and remove the seeds and most of the membrane. Combine all of the dressing ingredients the food processor. Process until it looks similar to pesto.

5. Top each bed of lettuce with a piece of salmon. Garnish with spicy nuts and pour dressing on top. Serve.



The final product!

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