Pan Seared Crispy Salmon Kale Salad

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Talk about a healthy dish! This simple but delicious dish jams in a bunch of those trendy ‘Super Foods’ like Kale and Salmon, so you know it’s going to be good for you as an early week healthy dinner. This recipe delivers a beautiful Salmon Kale Salad that is absolutely delicious

For vegetarians you can absolutely just prepare the Kale Salad, or alternatively, easily replace the Salmon with another protein like Chicken Breast or a lean cut of Beef to keep things healthy and tasty

There’s a little trick we learnt from the great Thomas Keller on how to ensure the skin of your Salmon is guaranteed to go crispy. I believe the term he used which I absolutely love is to ‘squeegee’ the skin – a technique involving removing the excess moisture and weird grey stuff (our terminology) from the skin by dragging the back of a knife over the skin several times


The general rule for crispiness with proteins is to keep them as dry as possible, so this technique works, and is surprising just how much moisture is in that skin

Getting the best texture from Kale

Kale can be a tricky ingredient to get right. It is quite fibrous and tough so when eaten raw in a salad it can be unpleasant at times. The trick we’ve learnt to best prepare Kale is to let it sit for a while in the dressing before serving. Most salad dressings have a high acid content either from Lemon Juice or Vinegar, and this acid content is critical for the Kale

The Acid in the Salad dressing will slowly break down the fibers in the Kale, which will help to tenderize it. 10 minutes or so should be enough time. Just cut the Kale into bite sized pieces (removing the storks) and then place them in the bowl with the dressing. No need to add any other ingredients. Just have the Kale sit there and soak in the acid. Doing this will produce a far superior texture and ultimately elevate the whole Salmon Kale Salad

I like to add the Red Onions in with the Kale as well. Raw Red Onions bring a brilliant texture to the dish, but can be quite a sharp flavor for some. Letting the Onion sit in the dressing will help draw out some of that sharpness. It’s an optional step, but we prefer it

You can add a bit of Goats Cheese to the salad right before serving for some added zing

This is an optional step, but if you love your Goats Cheese like we do you’ll want to be doing this. Crumble up about 1 tbsp. or so of good quality Goats Cheese and sprinkle over the Salad right before serving

The creaminess of the Goats Cheese contrasts well with the acidic dressing in the Salad. Contrary to what many may believe – cheese can pair very well with Seafood, and this is a prime example. Goats Cheese adds a lovely subtle sweetness to the Salmon. It doesn’t overpower the Salmon, instead compliments it and elevates the entire dish

Pan Seared Crispy Salmon Kale Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Salmon Filets, Skin on, about 7-8 oz. each
• 1 bunch of Kale, de-stemmed and chopped
• 2 Tomatoes, diced
• ½ Red Onion, sliced
• 4-6 tbsp. of good olive oil (quantity dependent on your flavor preference)
• Juice from half a Lemon
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Flakes
• 1 Cucumber, diced
• 1 oz (30 grams) Goats Cheese
• 1 cup of Cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of Parsley, roughly chopped
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Instructions

1. Begin by preparing this simple sauce / vinaigrette by combining the Olive Oil, Lemon, Red Chili Flakes and a tsp. of Salt into a large salad bowl and mix well
2. Add the Kale, Red Onion, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Cilantro and Parsley into the bowl and mix well, ensuring all the ingredients are well coated with the oil mixture
3. ‘Squeegee’ your Salmon skin to remove any excess oil by dragging the back of a knife over the skin a couple of times. You will immediately notice some moisture and unpleasant-looking grey stuff on the knife. Do this a couple of times until the knife runs dry. Season the skin with salt then place skin side down on a lightly oiled frypan over medium heat
4. Cook for about 6-8 minutes skin side, keeping a close eye on the doneness of the fish and skin. Best to check the skin a couple of times to ensure it is a lovely dark brown color before flipping. If the skin is sticking to the pan don’t worry, just leave it a few more minutes until it cooks more. It will unstick once it cooks
5. Flip the salmon and cook for another 3-4 minutes flesh side until the internal temperature reads 120 degrees. You can cook a little longer however this temperature gets you a lovely moist fish with beautiful flakes
6. To serve, place a large portion of salad onto a plate then place the lovely cooked salmon skin side up on the salad. Sprinkle over some finishing salt and serve!
   
   

Enjoy this tasty and healthy dish by itself or serve alongside our Simple Yoghurt Sauce recipe found here. If you enjoyed this yummy Salmon Kale Salad why not check out some of our other delicious Healthy recipes. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Teriyaki Salmon on Rice
• Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili
• Salmon Poke Bowl
• Simple Brussel Sprout Salad
  
  

Happy Cooking!