For busy college students like Amy McMillin, easy-to-prepare meals that make the most out of a limited food budget are a necessity. “I like to make salads with fewer ingredients using unique combinations,” Amy told us, which is how she came up with her recipe for Curried Salmon Salad submitted for the Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook.

Salmon, lettuce, avocado, slivered almonds and green onions mixed with the complexity and bold flavors of an array of ground spices – garam masala, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne – makes this a delicious Primal dish.

Dried spices stay flavorful and aromatic for up to a year (even when stored in a dorm room) and are an economical way to punch up the flavor in just about anything you cook. If you want to make this salad even simpler, buy only the garam masala, which is an Indian spice blend that often includes the other five spices in this recipe plus cloves, cardamom, fennel, mace or nutmeg. The benefit of using all the spices instead of just garam masala, however, is that you can customize the flavor. Love to feel the burn? Then don’t hold back on the cayenne or garam masala. Does spicy food make you cry? Then cumin, coriander and cinnamon are your friends. Amy blends the spices with coconut milk for a quick and easy dressing. She also uses them to lightly season the salmon.

Pan-frying the salmon in coconut oil gives the fish a crispy, almost caramelized coating. We recommend searing it on both sides, first skin side up for 4-6 minutes, then after adding a little more oil, flip the fish and keep it in the pan until the skin is crispy. When the salmon cools, toss it in a bowl with all the other ingredients. Or, do what Amy does when she’s taking her Curried Salmon Salad to go: simply throw everything into a Tupperware container and shake well before eating.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 4-6oz salmon fillet (for college students without a kitchen or anyone on a tight budget, consider using canned salmon instead)
• 1/2- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (for cooking fresh salmon)
• 2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 avocado, cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoon sliced or slivered almonds
• 2-3 tablespoon chopped green onions

Dressing:

• 2-3 tablespoons coconut milk (or more, depending on how much dressing you like on your salad)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of cayenne pepper
• *optional: 1/2 tsp of coconut flour to thicken dressing

Directions:

Season salmon with coriander, cumin and garam masala then pan-fry the fillet in coconut oil.

Flake salmon into small pieces and mix with other ingredients. Whisk dressing ingredients together and drizzle over salad.

If you'd like to add an avatar to all of your comments click here!

Load Comments