Salmon again? With Couscous and a Salad (762 per serving).

After a few days at cabin in Yosemite, with good friends and kids, it was time to get back to more healthy eating. So, I went back to a standby, the individually packaged & frozen, 7 oz, Atlantic Salmon filets, from Costco. These filets are sold in bags of 7 or 8, under the Kirkland brand name. I would prefer that they were wild caught, these are farm raised, but I wouldn't be able to afford them if they were.

Generally, the kids eat a healthier diet than most kids their ages.  But they still eat more processed food than I like, with a lot of dried pasta, and, at least for my daughter, very few fresh vegetables, without coercion.  In fact, she insisted she didn't like salmon, or couscous, and wondered what, besides a little salad, she was going to eat for dinner.

I told her to trust me, she would like it.  Needless to say, she loved it, and said that all the other salmon she had tried was tasteless, and this had good flavor.

This was a key breakthrough for me.  You can have one with your picky eating child, significant other, or parent, too.  Trust me.  :)

The first step in this meal is making the Couscous.   Couscous preparation is so simple, really just follow the directions on the bag, and add anything extra as it sets up, like mushrooms, or after it sets, like I did here with diced onions.

Just place 2 cups of water (or broth, if you're so inclined), a tsp of olive oil, & a dash of salt, in a medium sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, pour in 1.5 cups of couscous, return it to a boil, cover, and remove from the heat.

While the couscous is resting for about 5 minutes, finely dice an onion, and sauté in a tsp of vegetable oil, until translucent.

Once the onions are ready, remove the lid from the couscous, add the diced onion, stir into the couscous, recover and set aside.

Next, I took some defrosted salmon filets, and generously salted & peppered them, and set them aside.

In a large non-stick skillet, sprayed with Pam, or other spray oil, and heated over medium-high heat, add the filets - they should sizzle immediately.

You want a nice sear on these, so cook them for about 4 minutes on each side, and then keep warm.

While the salmon filets were cooking, I made a quick honey wasabi sauce to put on the salmon. I took a tsp of wasabi paste, a dash of soy sauce, a half tsp of garlic powder, a tsp of honey, and a Tbs of sesame oil, and mixed well, and set aside.

Finally, Kasi make a salad. She used a bag of spring mix greens, some finely sliced carrots, cucumbers, and red bell pepper, and a diced Roma tomato. Then she made a quick vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, some Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and garlic powder.

To assemble the plate, I placed a cup of couscous in the center, laid a salmon filet up on the couscous, and added the dressed salad behind the couscous. Then, using a silicone brush, I wiped the wasabi sauce on the salmon, and drizzled it over the plate.

All-in-all, the meal took about 30 minutes to prepare, looked great, and tasted delicious. :)

Couscous (Serves 4)

1.5 cups          Couscous

2 cups             Water, or broth

1 tsp                Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dash               Salt

1 tsp               Vegetable oil

1                    Onion, medium, diced

In a small sauce pan, bring water, olive oil, and salt, to a boil.  Add couscous, return to a boil, cover, and remove from heat and set aside.  Finely dice the onions and saute them in the vegetable oil until translucent.  Remove cover from couscous, stir onions in, and recover pan.  Set aside.

Seared Salmon with Honey Wasabi Sauce (Serves 4)

4                      Salmon Filets (7 oz, each), previously frozen

Liberal spray   Pam

To Taste          Salt & Pepper

1 tsp                Wasabi paste

Dash               Soy sauce

.5 tsp               Garlic powder

1 tsp                Honey

1Tbs               Sesame oil

Generously salt and pepper each side of the filets.  Heat a large, non-stick skillet, over medium hight heat, and spray with a non-stick oil.

Add the filets (they should sizzle immediately), and sear for 4 minutes on each side.  Remove from skillet, and place on a plate, and keep warm in the oven.

In a bowl, mix well the wasabi paste, soy sauce, garlic powder, honey, and sesame oil, and set aside with a basting brush.

Mixed Green Salad with a Balsamic Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette (serves 4)

1 bag              Mixed Greens

1                     Carrot

.25                  Cucumber

.5                    Red Bell Pepper

1                     Roma tomato, diced

3 Tbs              Balsamic vinegar

2 tsp                Dijon mustard

.5 tsp               Garlic powder

Dash               Salt and pepper

.25 Cup          Extra virgin olive oil

Finely slice carrots, cucumber, and red bell pepper, and add, with the diced tomatoes, to the greens, in a salad bowl.

Next mix well together, in a small bowl, the vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.  Using a small whisk, add the oil slowly, whisking constantly, to fully emulsify the vinaigrette.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, and toss well, so that each piece is coated, but not drenched.