TL/DR – Jalapeño Salmon Chopped Salad. A light and healthy dinner salad with baked salmon, jalapeño buttermilk cilantro lime dressing and lots of colorful chopped veggies.
A chopped salad has many benefits. The components are all small, so each bite has every flavor. Also, I appreciate a salad experience that doesn’t require me to shove huge leaves into my mouth and slather my face with dressing.
Start by seasoning and baking or grilling salmon in a foil packet. As it cooks, make the jalapeño cilantro lime buttermilk dressing in a small food processor. The jalapeño cilantro lime buttermilk dressing for this salad is a unique take on a traditional creamy dressing. Its creaminess cuts through the spice while the cilantro and lime brighten and deepen the flavors. Try it on these Turkey Lentil Burgers.
The best part of chopped salad is the presentation. Depending on one’s mood or personality, each ingredient can be lined up, piled carefully by color, or circled on the plate in a perfect spiral. Then of course, each diner gets to mix the heck out of everything with the delicious dressing and devour!
Jalapeño Salmon Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 2 4 to 6 oz salmon filets
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 t kosher salt, divided
- ground pepper to taste
- 1 jalapeño, roughly chopped
- 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1/4 c buttermilk
- 1/4 c mayonnaise
- zest and juice of one lime
- 1 T agave nectar
- 1/2 c packed cilantro leaves
- 3 oz salad greens, chopped fairly small
- 3/4 colorful bell pepper, diced small
- 4 to 6 radishes, diced small
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 3/4 c crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Heat the oven or the outdoor grill to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Tear two pieces of foil the size of a cookie sheet, place one on top of the other, then fold together on one side four times. Open the now large piece of foil and place on a cookie sheet.
- Step 3 Place the salmon portions about 2 in. apart in the center of the foil. Drizzle the olive oil over each, then sprinkle 1/2 t kosher salt and a pinch of ground pepper over each.
- Step 4 Bring two opposite sides of the foil together over the top, then fold them down and over until secure but not touching the fish. Fold up the other sides to form a packet.
- Step 5 Place the fish in the oven or on the upper rack of the grill over indirect heat and cook for 16-20 min or until desired doneness.
- Step 6 Place the jalapeño, garlic, buttermilk, mayonnaise, zest and juice of lime, agave nectar, cilantro leaves, 1/2 t kosher salt and ground pepper to taste in a small food processor and process until very smooth. Set aside.
- Step 7 Arrange the salad greens, bell peppers, radishes, carrots and tortilla chips in even lines on two smallish plates or low bowls. Set aside.
- Step 8 Once the salmon is finished, place one filet on the top of each salad, drizzle with a bit of dressing and serve immediately. Serve with the remainder of the dressing.
