Recipe of the week

  Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Seared Salmon

 
 Credit: Romulo Yanes

I found this recipe last week on Health Magazine's website and couldnt wait to give it a go, it contains some of my favourite foods! Its also full of wonderful omega 3 fatty acids from the salmon and monounsaturated fats from the olive oil. Not to mention the vitamins and minerals including lycopene from the pink grapefruit. Its part of an artile called '7 Days of Super Healthy Dinners' http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20576053_5,00.html


Prep Time: 10 minute
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes 
Makes 4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups salad and 3 ounces salmon)

	Ingredients 1 large grapefruit 2 large bunches arugula, stems removed (10 cups)    1 ripe avocado, pitted and sliced                            2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided Cooking spray 3 (5-ounce) wild salmon fillets (skin on) 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
	Preparation 1. Peel and segment grapefruit with a sharp knife on a cutting board; reserve juice in a bowl. Toss grapefruit segments and juices with arugula and avocado; divide salad among 4 serving plates. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. 2.Sprinkle remaining salt and pepper over both sides of salmon. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add fish (skin-side down) to skillet, and cook until skin is golden and fish releases easily from pan (about 4 minutes). Using a spatula, gently flip fish and cook about 3 minutes more. Break each fillet into 4 pieces; top salads with 3 pieces fish. Drizzle salads with reserved dressing; sprinkle with walnuts.
	Nutritional Information Calories per serving: 360 Fat per serving: 23.9g Saturated fat per serving: 3.2g Monounsaturated fat per serving: 11.5g Polyunsaturated fat per serving: 7.3g Protein per serving: 25g Carbohydrates per serving: 14g Fiber per serving: 5g Cholesterol per serving: 58mg Iron per serving: 2mg Sodium per serving: 309mg Calcium per serving: 148mg
	I made a few small changes, for example
	arugla - I used plain old mesclun mix
	avocado - Well, mine just didnt have any. I cut open a beautiful avocado only to find it was nowhere near ripe... we were devestated but we pressed on
	kosher salt - feel free to use sea salt or himalayan salt as I did
	Toasted walnuts - I just used them raw
	Additional vegies - I added some steamed asaparagus and carrots on the side to pad it out a little

The verdict

This recipe went down a treat! My partner kept 'mmMmming' and telling me how much he loved the flavours. After he'd finished he looked at me and said 'You know, I've been missing cheese so much' (we're doing paleo and cut out dairy), he says 'I dont know how you've done it, but you've managed to mix all these flavours and... they taste like cheese'. Yes, thats what he said. This beautiful, fresh grapefruit minus the avocado salad with seared salmon TASTES LIKE CHEESE. I have to admit that wasnt the flavour I was going for, I bet Health Magazine wasnt going for it either, but it was a hit none the less. Apparently the fact he could taste cheese was a great thing.

 Now i honestly didnt taste cheese, I promise. So give it a go!

Chris