Tag Archive for: Main Dish Salad

Every year seems to have a cycle. We enjoy the holidays by indulging on some of our favorite foods, not to mention lots of party food. Then you get to good old January and feel the need to set yourself right again. I am trying to do that with more veggies and protein and less carbs and alcohol. This is a great salad to get you on the right track! I like to experiment with textures and colors to make salads more interesting. It makes salad feel like a gourmet meal and will leave you satisfied. I served salmon here, but you could use any kind of protein you like. I especially try to incorporate fish when I find a special; here in Colorado, fish can be expensive and is not always the best quality. Try this one out, the warm zucchini is a great compliment to the freshness of the salad! Do you have any ideas for going healthier this month?

 

Salmon with Zucchini Mixed Green Salad

4 Cups mixed green salad mix

3 Zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise

2 Carrots, shredded

1 Tomato, cubed

½ Avocado, cubed

1 Can sliced hearts of palm

1 oz. Goat cheese, crumbled

¼ Cup Vinaigrette (3 parts olive oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 T Dijon mustard, 1 clove crushed and peeled garlic, salt and pepper)

1 lb. Salmon

1/3 Cup Marinade (4 T each citrus seasoning, orange juice and apple cider vinegar; 2 T each soy sauce and lime juice, olive oil)

 

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a shallow dish and add the fish. Allow to marinade 1 hour to overnight turning several times.

Preheat your broiler. Place the zucchini on a lightly greased sheet pan. Sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Broil for about 5-7 minutes until golden (although I like them well done.) Wash and dry the vegetables and combine in a large bowl. Add the hearts of palm and goat cheese.

Combine vinaigrette ingredients in an airtight container and shake well.

Place the fish under the broiler for about 15 min (keep a close eye on anything you broil as it can burn quickly.) Remove the garlic then toss the salad with the desired amount of salad dressing.

Top with the zucchini and fish.

Enjoy!

A trip to the farmer’s market left us with piles of early lettuce, arugula, French radishes and tomatoes. Instead of spending $100 on each of us getting a nice Filet, we bought one ½ pound beef tenderloin filet for $12 at the “nice” store, since we are hardly going to cook it. The question was whether to grill the steak or pan fry. I wanted this to be almost raw, a quick sear on each side to make a crust, so I didn’t know if the (disappointing Jenn-Air) gas grill would get hot enough. So I pulled out my old trusty cast iron pan. I figured, searing hot, 2 minutes per side, to break down the fat and get a nice crust. And, frankly, it came out perfect.
Prep your salad by washing and drying your lettuce. Make salad dressing by combining 2 T. good olive oil plus 1 ½ t. sherry vinegar, a crushed clove of garlic and salt and pepper. Shake well and set aside until later. You can do all this ahead and chill while you take a nap after the Farmer’s market!
After your nap, cut up tomatoes, radishes, cabbage and measure your capers and shave the Parmesan. We like to lay all the ingredients out in our salad bowl.

Next, trim off the silver skin (that the expensive store left on). Crush some peppercorns, with the heavy cast iron pan. The heavy pan will keep the pepper from flying away! Preheat the pan until SUPERhot on high. Add 1 T. Canola Oil and spread around the pan. Cover the steak with the crushed pepper and some Celtic salt. Press onto the meat so it stays on. Put the steak in the pan fat side down (on its side) for 2 minutes. It will smoke, don’t worry, just turn on your fan. Flip and cook 2 minutes per side. Let steak rest for 5 minutes.

Toss salad. Slice steak against the grain and into super thin slices.

Add cooked steak to the top of the salad. YUM!

Mary