This is another delightful salad for the beautiful weather we’ve been having. Quick and easy – a perfect weeknight meal.
Like everybody else, not all of our meals are pies de resistance. There are times when life is busy and we don’t feel like cooking something elaborate. Perhaps we ate too much the night before (this happens more than we will tell 😮 ) and we need something light. Periodically, we actually attempt to regulate our diet. Then there are days where something cool and refreshing fits the mood and/or weather. Perhaps it is a combination of some or all of the foregoing. It’s on days like these that we do an entree salad. We like entree salads. In fact, I think we have 10 on the blog already. They are quick and don’t take a whole lot of work. We especially like them if we can include some of our garden produce in them. This salad came about because we both had been busy and the weather had been stellar. Neither one of us felt like cooking and I had recently purchased some beautiful spring greens mix. Baby Lady also seen a Szechuan chile-sesame seasoning blend at the market that she wanted to try. We also had some of the Thai dipping sauce remaining from the Grilled Halibut atop Asian Style Homegrown Swiss Chard with Pickled Red Peppers Finished with Blood Orange Olive Oil. All of the sudden the light bulb went on and things very quickly came together for a wonderful entree salad. This is what we did. We hope you like it.
Ingredients
- 2 salmon filets, roughly 6 – 7 oz each, skinned
- Szechwan chile sesame seasoning
- 3 cups spring greens mix or lettuce/greens of your choosing, spit evenly among the dinner plates
- red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
- 5 red grape tomatoes, halved
- 5 yellow cherub tomatoes, halved
- 1 Tbsp pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp Thai dipping sauce (recipe found here)
- 4 Tbsp lemon infused olive oil (you can make your own or buy it here)
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instruction
First, make the Thai vinaigrette. Add 2 Tbsp of Thai dipping sauce to a small bowl or a small blender.
Add the lemon infused olive oil
Blend to incorporate and set aside until ready to serve.
Next, season the salmon filets
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat and place the filets in the skillet.
Depending upon how well done you like your salmon, cook the salmon anywhere from 2 minute to 4 minutes then turn.
Baby Lady and I like our salmon in salads like this cooked to a medium. So we cook the filets roughly 2 minutes per side. If you like yours cooked to well done then 3 – 4 minutes per side is what you are looking for. To test the doneness of the salmon, once you turn it and cook it for 2 minutes, using your finger gently press done on the fish. If the fish yields easily and starts to flake, the fish is done. Once done, remove from the pan so it stops cooking. Always remember that, even though you removed the salmon from the pan and heat, the salmon will still cook a little from the residual heat in the salmon itself.
Now build the bed for the salad by placing the greens, tomatoes and onions on the dinner plate.
Add a filet to each plate
Sprinkle with pine nuts.
Dress with the Thai dressing. Serve & enjoy!
REMCooks 
Very nice, Richard. Could I replicate the szechuan-chile-sesame seasoning by mixing up sesame seeds, szechuan peppercorns, and chile flakes?
Have you ever tried to cook salmon sous-vide to 43C/109F? It would only need the briefest of sears after that and it will be amazingly succulent (medium rare rather than medium).
(P.S. Love the pièce de résistance pun!)
Hi, Stefan. Thanks for the nice compliment. 🙂 The seasoning blend had toasted, crushed sesame seeds; ground ginger; ground szechuan pepper; salt; brown sugar; garlic powder; white pepper; chives and crushed chili flakes. It has a nice flavor to it and I may try to replicate it to determine the proportions. I would probably lightly brush the salmon with soy sauce prior to applying the seasoning. What really makes this salad, however, is the vinaigrette.
As for cooking the salmon sous vide, I have done it sous vide and it’s very “buttery.” I liked it a lot but grilling salmon is so quick and simple that I really never think about cooking it sous vide. 😮
For me it’s a bit different because I don’t have a gas grill (and I don’t like to build a charcoal fire just to grill a piece of salmon) and it takes more attention not to overcook it. I can set up the sous-vide in 1 minute as I can fill it straight from the tap with water of approximately 43C. Buttery is a good description. Now that I think of it, might be nice to serve on toast as hors d’oeuvre 🙂
My husband and I love salmon. I’ve never tried it with Szechuan peppers though…. I do imagine that it’d taste delicious! And definitely agree re cooking salmon to medium. I always feel a bit sad when I receive a well-done salmon fillet in a restaurant. It seems like the lovely fish died all over again… very unworthy death in the fry pan. Thanks for sharing your dinner idea. The vinaigrette sounds lovely.
Thanks for the nice compliment, Laura. 🙂
I like this new twist on salmon. Usually I get bored with the same preparation but this sounds really great.
Thanks, Christina. 🙂 We generally don’t eat the same thing twice so we’re always looking for different ways to fix the same protein. We also eat a lot of seafood and salmon, in particular. We got the idea for this when we prepared the Thai dipping sauce and both commented how it would make a wonderful vinaigrette. It very much did.
Mmmm Now that sounds lovely! I wish my husband liked fish better. He’s OK with shellfish but not too big on filets of any kind. He’ll eat it when I serve it, but begrudgingly, to be honest. Me, I adore ALL seafood and will definitely try this recipe out, Richard. All I have to do to low-carb it is sub in S/F honey in the sauce. I can DO this one!
Hi, Peggy. Thanks for the nice compliment. Sorry to hear hubs doesn’t like fish filets. I love seafood of all kinds and it makes such a wonderful salad with a light vinaigrette. You can also use leftover filets as a light lunch served cold with hollandaise sauce and a spring salad on the side.
Looks like the perfect dinner! The flavors you used look wonderful and I should give it a try. I usually make my salmon with the traditional lemon juice, black pepper, dill and sea salt…also very good but a little change is always good!
Hi, Laila. Thank you for the very nice compliment. We love the traditional approach to salmon, as well. Bay Lady doesn’t eat red meat so we eat a lot of seafood and salmon, in particular. So, we need some variety and find salmon is wonderful with salads. The Thai dipping sauce we had made previously made a wonderful vinaigrette and was a great way to use a leftover. 🙂 If you give the recipe a try, let us know what you think.
This looks delicious. I’m always looking for great ways to cook salmon. Something I haven’t fully mastered yet. I’m definitely going to try yours!! 🙂
Hi, Emanuelle. Thanks for dropping by and leaving such a nice compliment. I dropped by your blog and tried to leave a comment on your wonderful looking Kale salad but it wouldn’t let me. 😦 Love the concept of baked conchiglie as a crouton and will definitely give it a try.
I never think to “go Asian” with seafood, other than shrimp, but this recipe proves that I should. It looks fantastic, Richard, and will be perfect for the hot days ahead. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, John. Thanks for the nice compliment. We like the freshness of Asian inspired foods and the Thai dipping sauce made a wonderful vinaigrette for the salad.
Looks delicious…and lo-cal!
Hi, Sheryl. Thanks for the nice compliment. 🙂
this sounds so good! I love Sichuan spices and the vinaigrette sounds perfect for this salad!
Thanks, Andreea. We really liked this one. 🙂
Schezuan peppers are a magical ingredient. I like that little punch of heat, followed by the numbness sensation on the tongue. Did you know the Chinese used to dip their arrows into schezuan oil so the spears would burn upon impact during war…yikes!
Love a salmon, love a salad and I love asian fusion!