A rocket and avocado salad with salmon and toasted seeds recipe

This is a meal in itself, perfect for a laid-back lunch or dinner. It’s packed full of heart-healthy omegas 3 and 6, fibre, healthy fats, zinc and various minerals, all of which boost the immune system and keep you feeling satisfied and ready for action. The fieriness of the rocket balances out the richness of the salmon, and the tamari dressing is just delicious. It contains ginger, which is anti-inflammatory and great for the circulation, too. Toasting the seeds enhances their nutty flavour – an essential step not to be skipped.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp tamari

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger (squeeze the pulp and discard, reserving the juice)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salmon:

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 salmon fillets (about 130g each), skin off

1 tbsp ghee or olive oil

40g pumpkin seeds

40g sunflower seeds

1 sheet of toasted nori, broken up into little pieces

For the salad:

1 avocado, halved, stoned and the flesh scooped out in pieces

3 handfuls of rocket

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 courgette, shaved lengthways into ribbons

Method 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.  First make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in a jam jar and screw on the lid tightly. Shake really well. Taste and season if you think it needs it – tamari is quite salty so you may not need to.  Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until golden. Place the salmon fillets on a baking tray, spread with a little ghee, then sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds, pop in the oven and roast for about 12 minutes, or until the fish is just about cooked through. Salmon is lovely and tender if still a bit pink right in the middle. Once cooked, remove the fillets from the oven. Meanwhile, toast the pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Spread them out on a baking tray and pop in the oven for six to eight minutes, or until they are just turning brown and the pumpkin seeds are popping. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.  To assemble the salad, simply arrange all the ingredients on a platter, flake over the fish, sprinkle over the toasted seeds and nori, then drizzle with the dressing. Enjoy.

Recipe courtesy of The Wholefood Pantry by Amber Rose,  published by Kyle Books.