Blackened Salmon and Strawberry Salad (Edit recipe)

There are some flavor combinations that just cry out to coexist. Combinations that hold a rightful place next to the greatest love affairs of human and culinary history...Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Carrie Bradshaw and Big, chocolate and peanut butter, tomato sauce and bread. As rules are meant to be broken, I'd like to add a TRIO of flavors to the annals of flavor history: strawberries + goat cheese + pecans. The coolness of fresh strawberries with tangy goat cheese and rich pecans was infinitely luscious and paired perfectly with deeply seasoned salmon.

Difficulty:

Intermediate

Show nutritional information

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	481
Fat:	33 g
Carbohydrates:	23 g
Protein:	26 g
Cholesterol:	67 g
Sodium:	820 mg
Fiber:	5 g
Sugars:	10 g
Calculated per serving.

by Laura Lea

View original recipe

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Blackening Seasoning

1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Chili Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Sea Salt

Salad Ingredients

3/4 cup Pecans
2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1 Sweet Potato, (peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes)
pinch Sea Salt
2-3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Wild Caught Salmon Filet
1 Lemon
6 oz Baby Spinach
White Balsamic Vinegar
2-3 oz Goat Cheese
1/2 cup Strawberries, (hull removed and thinly sliced)

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Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Preheat oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Add raw pecans to one sheet and sweet potatoes to another. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and sea salt on sweet potatoes and use fingers to coat evenly.
Combine all ingredients for blackening seasoning in a small bowl. Lay your salmon filets side by side on a plate, skinless side up. Cover tops evenly with blackening seasoning. Set aside.
Place pecans and sweet potatoes in the oven. Roast pecans for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. While pecans are roasting, add maple syrup and 2 tablespoons water to a small saucepot. Heat and stir so liquid is warm but not bubbling.
Remove pecans from oven and add to sauce pot. Stir to coat evenly then turn pecans onto another piece of clean parchment or a cooling rack. Set side.
Sweet potatoes will roast for 30 mins or until soft and caramelized around the edges. While they are roasting, heat a cast-iron skillet (can sub another skillet) to medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. When oil begins to smoke, add your salmon filets side by side, skinless side facing down. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until you can move a spatula underneath salmon. If it sticks, it's not ready. Flip filets and cook the skin side, 3-4 minutes or until crispy. If filets are not cooked as thoroughly as you like in the middle, put the pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
When you are finished cooking salmon, slice your lemon in half and garnish filets with fresh lemon juice. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and allow to cool 5 minutes.
Assemble your salad: Toss spinach with a light coating of white balsamic vinegar. Top spinach with 1 salmon filet, a handful pecans, a handful of strawberry slices, a scoop of sweet potatoes and a few crumbles of goat cheese.