Mildly spice coated pan fried salmon with watermelon salad is a fuss free, light summer dish that you can eat on repeat. It's healthy, and takes only 15 minutes to prepare.
This meal has become a regular in my house. We love fruits, and we love salmon, so the combination has effortlessly placed its permanent spot in our weekly menu.
My 9 years old loves the dish so much that meal time goes smoothly without me reminding him to focus on eating.
Ingredients you need for this Salmon with watermelon salad
Salmon fillet - You can use the other variety of fishes too, but salmon works best, I feel. I use skinless salmon fillet, but if you are using with skin on, fry the skin side first to get it crispy.
A vegetarian substitute would be to use tofu or paneer.
Spices to marinate the salmon fillet - I used garlic powder, dried parsley, paprika powder, salt, sugar, lemon juice and oil. You definitely can add few other spices too as per your taste bud or what you have handy.
Fruits - There is no restriction on what fruits you use, but watermelon salad definitely calls for watermelon. I also add strawberries, nectarines or peaches, cherries and cucumber for the crunch.
Herbs - To balance the sweetness of the fruits, I add a lot of fresh herbs. Dill, cilantro leaves and mint is a good combination.
Salad dressing - The salad dressing is also very simple. I used balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. If you don't have balsamic vinegar, you can surely use whatever variety of vinegar you have. If you don't have vinegar, use lemon juice.
Feta Cheese - Feta cheese goes very well with watermelon, so I would suggest you don't skip the feta cheese in the watermelon salad.
The best part of this salmon with watermelon salad is that you don't need to restrict to just these ingredients. You can add your choice of spices and add more or less fruits based on your liking.
If you enjoy salmon, which I think is a great source of protein, then do try Salmon with creamy dill sauce and Panko Crusted Salmon. Both are great weeknight dishes.
Steps to prepare
1- In a mixing bowl or a plate, add the dry spice powder, salt, sugar, along with lemon juice and oil. Whisk to mix it together.
2- Pat dry the salmon fillets and place it on the bowl or plate and massage the spice mixture all around the fillet. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
3- In the meantime, prepare the salad dressing by whisking all the ingredients.
4- Chop all the fruits into small bite sizes and place in a big mixing bowl.
5- Chop the fresh herbs finely.
6- Add the chopped herbs to the fruits along with the salad dressing.
7- You can either use a grill pan or any cast iron pan and cook the salmon with little oil for 4 minutes on each side. Depending on the size of the fish fillets, it might take more or less time to cook.
8- Serve the salmon along with the salad and sprinkle feta cheese on the salad.
This is one of those dish that you cannot prepare in advance. You can definitely marinate the fish in advance and keep it ready. But the rest you should be making fresh and enjoy right away.
FAQs
Salmon is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which makes it a great fish to pair with fruits, as the fruits helps to cut down on the richness of the fish.
Roughly 5 minutes on each side on a medium hot skillet. But do keep in mind that based on the size of the salmon, it will take more or less time to prepare.
You can make some couscous on the side or orzo. I personally like to keep it carb free. But some days I have served tomato rosemary focaccia on the side too.
Salmon with Watermelon Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Salmon fillet, no skin
Marinating salmon
- 2 teaspoon Garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, grated)
- 1 and ½ teaspoon Paprika powder
- 2 teaspoon Dry oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
Watermelon Salad
- ½ Small watermelon
- 8 strawberries
- 10 cherries
- 2 nectarines
- 1 Medium size Cucumber (Or 5 cocktail cucumbers)
- Feta cheese to sprinkle on top
- ⅓ cup Finely chopped assorted herbs (cilantro, dill and mint)
Salad Dressing
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add everything under salmon marination, whisk to mix everything.
- Pat dry the salmon fillet and then massage the spice mix all over. Cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the salad dressing by whisking everything mentioned in the ingredient list of salad dressing. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Chop the fruits into bite size and place in a big mixing bowl.
- Add the chopped herbs' to the mixing bowl
- Pour the dressing and mix it around.
- Heat a cast iron pan and pour a little oil. Layer the fish fillet and cook for 4 minutes on each side.
- Once the fish is cooked, serve it with the salad on the side. Sprinkle feta cheese on the salad and enjoy the dish.
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