Seared Honey Spiced Crusted Salmon & Rocket, baby spinach and Pear Salad

There have been a lot of changes in my diet the past months and I am really happy with all these changes.   We eat less meat which means that the pork we used to eat at least once a week is now limited to once a month, the beef we used to eat once a month is now cooked only once, maybe, every two months, the chicken or turkey has been increased to twice a week and the fish has been increased to at least twice a week and this includes fish rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. Cheeses, especially the fatty ones are not in our diet any more and a pasta dish with vegetables is included once a week. The rest of the days it is vegetables and dried legumes.  The desserts have been reduced to one every fortnight and most of them are being made using "healthy" ingredients.    I must say that this is a very healthy Mediterranean diet.

As I wrote in my yesterday's post, I was looking for recipes to use the grapes and I found this one.

The salmon was quite similar to a recipe I have been making for a long time now, so there was no need to copy the recipe but having a general idea of what to do, I did not refer to the recipe again.

As you may compare from both recipes I have used a lot more spices but also used roasted pecans and remember those sesame seeds I told you from Glystarkes. I used those toasted sesame seeds as well and made a mixture which I coated the salmon.

We loved this recipe so I made it again this week.  However, this time, I made a few changes not because we didn't like the previous one but unfortunately when I went to the supermarket I did not find any red grapes, nor pecans, so as an alternative I used prunes and almonds. Again, I used the prune sauce in more than one recipes.

Both salmon recipes were amazing and if you like salmon, whichever you choose, I guarantee that you will love it.

Seared Pecan Crusted Salmon with  Red Grapes and Mavrodaphne

Preparation time:15 minutes

Cooking time:½ hour

Serves:6

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo salmon fillets
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For the crust:

• 7 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons crushed pecans
• 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon variety of 4 peppers (black, white, green, red)

Other Ingredients:

• 300 grams spaghetti
• 500 grams spinach
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon mint pesto

For the grape sauce:

• See recipe here.

Directions:

1. In a spice grinder add the mustard seeds, sea salt, dried, thyme and peppers and powder.   Add the sesame seeds and pecans and grind a few times.  Mix in the breadcrumbs.
2. In a bowl add the honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix.Brush each fillet with the mixture and then cover with the spices.
3. In a sautéing pan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté the salmon about 5 minutes per side, skin up and then turn.
4. Wash and drain the spinach.Mix with the garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt.
5. Arrange spinach in a baking tin and place the salmon on top.
6. Bake in a preheated oven for about ten minutes.
7. Boil pasta, al dente, drain and mix with pesto.

Serve the salmon on the spinach with spaghetti and top with the grape sauce.

The second time I changed the spice mixture again to match with with prune sauce.  I used this sauce in a few recipes and one of them was in this vinaigrette.

Seared Almond Crusted Salmon with Green Salad and with Prune Mavrodaphne Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo salmon fillets
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For the crust:

• 7 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons crushed almonds
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 2 tsps yellow mustard seeds
• ½ t coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons coriander
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon variety of 4 peppers (black, white, green, red)

For the prune sauce:

• See recipe here

Directions:

1. In a spice grinder add the mustard seeds, sea salt, cumin and peppers and powder.   Add the sesame seeds and almonds and grind a few times.  Mix in the breadcrumbs.
2. In a bowl add the honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix.
3. Brush each fillet with the mixture and then cover with the spices.
4. In a sautéing pan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté the salmon about 5 minutes per side, skin up and then turn.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for about ten minutes.

Rocket, baby spinach and pear Salad with Prune Vinaigrette

• 2 cups rocket
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 3 small radishes, peeled
• 1 pear, peeled and cored
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Prune Vinaigrette

For the salad dressing:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt and freshly ground mix of peppers
• 1 tablespoon thyme honey
• 2 tablespoons of pureed prune sauce

Directions:

For the prune sauce:

In a non-stick frying pan  add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté spices.  Add the prunes and mix for1 minute.Add the wine and boil on high heat until it is reduced to half (about ½ hour).

For the vinaigrette:

Process all the ingredients in a food processor and coat the salad.

Serve the salmon with the salad and extra vinaigrette.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,