Summer's Last Hurrah: BBQ Salmon & Quinoa Salad with Kale, Avocado, Roasted Tomatillos & Onions
This weekend was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Nothing is better than a sunny, 80-degree weekend at the end of September. My Saturday was spent almost entirely on a bike as my husband, some friends and I biked around to various breweries in NE: Bauhaus, 612, Indeed and my personal favorite (because I'm a hard cider snob/enthusiast), Sociable Cider Werks. After 23 miles of biking, my butt was rather sore and so we spent Sunday walking the trails along the Mississippi River, taking in the changing leaves. A very successful Minneapolis weekend, to say the least.
When trying to absorb every last minute of sunshine in a day, sometimes you have to take a few shortcuts while cooking. For example, bottled BBQ sauce; slather it on some salmon, pop it in the oven and you've got an amazing main dish. Normally I love making my own BBQ sauce from scratch, but soaking up the summer weather was more important this evening. Quinoa makes for another supper-time short cut, much faster than brown rice and other grains. It usually only takes about 10 minutes to cook and you can toss pretty much anything in it to bulk it up. You'll be glad you opted for a quick cooking grain because peeling tomatillos isn't the speediest process.
I picked up said tomatillos at the Linden Hills Farmers Market the other weekend and they were perfectly firm and full of flavor, even after sitting in my fridge for over a week. Tomatillos are tart with a hint of sweet. Upon roasting, they mellow nicely but still retain some tartness that is balanced by the creamy avocado in this dish. I got the beautiful salmon filet at the Kingfield Farmers Market several weeks ago. I had been hestitant to use it because it was so large, but couldn't wait any longer, it sounded so good! BBQ sauce and avocado make any dish feel summery to me. A perfect meal for summer's last hurrah.
BBQ Salmon & Quinoa Salad with Kale, Avocado, Roasted Tomatillos & Onions
Serves: 2-3
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
For Salmon:
1 lb. salmon filet
pinch of salt
3 tbsp. your favorite BBQ sauce
coconut oil spray (or cooking spray)
For Quinoa Salad:
1 pint tomatillos, peeled, rinsed and cut into halves
1 small sweet onion, chopped in a large dice
coconut oil
1 bunch kale, chopped, rinsed and rubbed with oilve oil
1 c. quinoa, rinsed and rubbed with coconut or olive oil
2 c. water
2 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. your favorite BBQ sauce
few dashes of lime
few drops of liquid smoke (optional)
1 avocado, diced
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with coconut oil spray. Place salmon on foil and sprinkle with salt. Spread BBQ sauce on the entire salmon filet and let sit at room temperature while preparing other ingredients.
2. Prepare tomatillos and onions and then place on another baking sheet lined with foil and cooking spray. Put baking sheet with vegetables on an upper rack and bake for about 10 minutes. Then add baking sheet with salmon on a lower rack.
3. Bring 1 cup of quinoa, 2 whole garlic cloves and 2 cups of salted water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Once the water is mostly absorbed, remove from heat. While quinoa is simmering, process kale in food processor until well chopped and dice the avocado.
4. Make dressing by whisking olive oil, BBQ sauce, a few dashes of lime and liquid smoke, if using. Taste and adjust as needed. Once tomatillos and onions are golden and soft, remove baking sheet from oven. Add tomatillos, onions, kale, avocado and dressing to the quinoa and mix well.
5. Once salmon is cooked through, remove from oven. Serve with quinoa mixture.
