SALMON SALAD WITH SWEET POTATO STICKS
OMG - was this AWESOME! You can tell it's Summer by the food we're eating here. Lighter, cooler, lots of fresh veggies. This really is my very favorite time of year. I think the food choices are symbolic of being re-born as I always feel greater, YOUNGER, when I'm eating foods like this.
And what's even more important - Jack LOVED it! ♥
Before I start giving you the ingredients and directions - I think it is important to talk about the kind of salmon I buy and eat. ATLANTIC SALMON NEVER ENTERS MY HOME. Period. I opt for wild caught Salmon. In fact, any fish I eat is wild. For the purposes of speaking about Salmon - anything other than wild is generally factory farmed today and those fish are fed an unnatural diet of corn. This changes the fat composition of the Salmon to something that is not healthy. You want to buy food/ingredients that consume the diet they were meant to consume.
Quality food starts with quality ingredients. Every good Chef lives by this philosophy and so should you.
INGREDIENTS:
Salmon
Smoked Paprika
Chipotle Chili Powder
Sweet Potatoes - peeled and cut into very thing match-stick pieces
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Salad - salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, sliced fennel, chopped walnuts, sliced radishes
DIRECTIONS:
The first thing to do here is to make a Balsamic reduction or glaze. I simply poured about 1 cup of Balsamic vinegar into a small pot, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat to a simmer so minimal surface movement, and I reduced it until I had about 1/4 cup of liquid.
While you have your Balsamic reducing, next start working on your potatoes. Once you have them cut into tiny match stick pieces, in a small saute pan with about 1/2 inch olive oil in the pan, I cooked the sweet potato at med-high until they were crispy, turning once. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to remove excess grease. I did these in batches. Very important not to over crowd your pan.
Once I had the above two steps completed, I seasoned my salmon with salt, pepper, paprika, and the chipotle chili powder. In the same small saute pan I cooked my sweet potatoes, I pan-seared the salmon for about 3 minutes per side. IF you have a grill - this is my preferred way to prepare the Salmon.
While the Salmon was cooking, I whipped up my salad. You can use whatever ingredients you like in your salad. I used my core staples of fresh veggies I always have on hand.
To assemble your salad:
Once your salmon has cooked, revmove it from the pan onto your cutting board. With a knife, flake the meat so it comes apart.
Pour a little olive oil over your salad, season it with salt and pepper, and then lightly drizzle some of your balsamic glaze over your greens. Top with your flaked salmon, and then finish it off by piling on those sweet potato sticks.
