Somehow Los Angeles still hasn’t gotten the memo that it’s fall, but I’m taking that as an excuse to eat this seasonal salad as much as possible while I’m still craving fresh, cooling foods!
As you all know, I don’t follow any specific diets and love all kinds of food, but when I’m home cooking for myself, I have mostly leaned towards plant based proteins in the past. One of the main reasons is that I want to make sure that when I do choose animal proteins and fish, they’re high quality, sourced sustainably and wild/free-range as possible.
And this is why I have been absolutely loving the fish from Blue Circle Foods – it’s a company I can get behind and the fish is incredible. I swear you can taste the difference! At Blue Circle, they never (ever) use antibiotics, GMO’s, growth hormones, or synthetic pigments (which is common in farmed fish). Their products are:
- Sustainably sourced using up to 12x fewer resources than other meats
- Sourced from family farmers or fisherman following fair labor practices
- “Just” fish
- High in Omega-3’s for optimal heart and brain health
- And wild caught from certified sustainable fisheries (including their Atlantic Cod, Haddock, Yukon Keta and Yellow Fin Tuna)
For this recipe in particular, I use their salmon that’s sourced from Kvarøy, a farm on a tiny island off the coast of Norway (how cool is that?!). And I can tell you that when I bite into it, I legitimately can’t believe that I, ME, made it in my own kitchen because it tastes like it’s from a fancy restaurant, NO. JOKE.
This salad comes together in just 10 minutes (the key is to not overcook the salmon), uses fresh autumn produce like honeycrisp apples and brussels sprouts, and is topped with an ever-so-slightly sweet maple dijon vinaigrette. Keep scrolling for the recipe!
Autumn Salmon Salad
2 Salmon Filets
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1 honeycrisp apple, sliced
1/4 cup candied or regular walnuts
4 cups of kale
2 cups of shredded brussels sprouts (or sliced & pulsed in a food processor)
- Heat skillet (if you have one!) or pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Dry the salmon with a paper towel for the ultimate crisp, and season the skin lightly with salt.
- Add a tablespoon or so of oil (I like avocado oil) to the skillet and then lay the piece of salmon down away from you so that the oil doesn’t splash. It should make a sizzling noise – that’s how you’ll know the pan is hot enough!
- Cook the salmon on the skin side for about 5 minutes and while that’s searing, toss together the kale, sprouts and Maple Dijon Vinaigrette (recipe below). I like to massage the dressing into the kale and sprouts with my hands to help soften them.
- After 5 minutes, turn the salmon over and give it a quick 1-2 minute sear on the other side.
- Plate the salad for two and top each with a salmon filet. Add the apple, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and goat cheese and a pinch of salt on top if desired.
Maple Dijon Vinaigrette
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp Lakanto Maple Syrup (or traditional Maple Syrup)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Sea Salt & Black Pepper
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
If you’d like to try Blue Circle Foods fish for yourself, head to their website here! And now, I’m off to start getting ahead on holiday content for clients – so weird to think that season is just right around the corner!
xo Jordan