Linny's Kitchen: July 2012

Friday, July 6, 2012

Grilled Salmon and Avocado Salad

Now that the 4th of July is past, it is time to move on from the hot dogs and hamburgers. I am not sure about you but, I am definitely burger and dogged out!
With the hot summer days and nights it the perfect time for me to start perfecting my summer salads again. The last thing I want to do is turn on the oven and bring the temperature of the kitchen up by another 20 degrees. So... For the next 8 weeks my grill will be in over drive cooking up all the dinner table essential!
A few weeks back I was looking for a light and flavorful salmon salad when I stumbled across this fresh little thing over at avocado.org. There were some slight changes that had to made in order to use the ingredients that I had on hand that came in my delivery from the cowtruck. Also, the whole thing came together in less than 30 minutes!!

Grilled Salmon:
2 - 8oz filets of Salmon
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of Orange Juice
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Salad:
1/4 a package of Olivia's Baby Spinach
1/4 a package of Olivia's Mixed Greens
1/2 a red onion sliced thin
1/4 cup of English Cucumber Sliced thin
1 orange, peeled and sliced (pith removed*)
1 avocado sliced
1/4 cup of Narragansett Creamery Salty Sea Feta Crumbled
1 ear of fresh grilled corn off the cob
1/4 cup of D.E. Vine Honey Balsamic Dressing

Combine the olive oil and orange juice in a bowl with the salt and pepper. Marinate the defrosted Salmon in the olive oil and orange juice for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the salad ingredients (can be marinaded for longer in the refrigerator.) Grill over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on the bottom side, then flip and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes.

In a large bowl toss together the all the salad ingredients with the salad dressing until evenly coated. Plate the salad onto two plate or large pasta bowls and top with the grilled salmon. Serve and Enjoy!

I have also served this same salad with a scoop of Quinoa or Couscous over the greens and under the salmon either warm or chilled. It is a great way to use up extra left overs that you might have in the fridge. Left over grilled vegetables are another great options too.
Chicken, shrimp or cod can also be substituted for the salmon using the same marinade. Just make sure to adjust your grilling time.

*Leaving the pith on the orange will cause a bitter aftertaste that can offset the flavors of the salad.

Linny's Tip - Cooking and Storing Potatoes

Potatoes should be kept in a cool, dark place with good ventilation. The ideal storage temperature is 45 to 50ºF. At these temperatures, potatoes will keep for several
weeks. But don't store potatoes in the refrigerator! When kept below 40ºF, potatoes develop a sweet taste, due to the conversion of starch to sugar. This increased sugar causes potatoes to darken when cooked. If you store potatoes at room temperature, try to use them within a week or so.

Keep potatoes away from prolonged exposure to light, which causes them to turn green. This greening causes a bitter flavor. If potatoes develop green areas or start to sprout, just trim off these areas before using.

Always add potatoes to cold water to boil. This ensures that potatoes will cook evenly throughout.

Linny's Tip: Tomatoes

Did you know tomatoes are second in consumption to potatoes!

However, there is one important thing everyone should know about tomatoes and that is how to store them. Tomatoes do not like the cold at all. In fact when you keep them in the refrigerator they will become mealy and loose their robust flavor.

Instead store them in a cool dark place with their stem side down for ripe tomatoes. For those tomatoes that a not quite ripe leave them on a sunny window sill and soon they will turn bright red and juicy ready to honor any salad or BLT!