Paleo/Whole30 dinner: Herb-crusted salmon and pumpkin soup

I try to serve salmon at least once a week -- gotta get those omega-3's! I love that it cooks quickly, and there are so many ways to top it, encrust it, or otherwise embellish it. I've found, though, that it's not as satisfying as red meat. We usually find ourselves hungry a couple hours later.

When I started making bone broth several month ago, I found that it is super satisfying. My theory is that it sticks with you because it's providing a lot of minerals, gelatin, and other good, healing things your body is craving. So my strategy now is to always serve a bone broth-based soup on the nights I serve salmon.

A few nights ago, I made my herb-crusted salmon along with cream of pumpkin soup, using homemade chicken bone broth. My husband said, "I like this soup. It's comforting, kinda like coffee." (He is sorely missing his coffee with cream and sugar in the morning!)

Cream of pumpkin soup is easy to make Whole30 compliant by making it dairy-free: just swap out the cream for full-fat coconut milk. This recipe from AllRecipes is the one I use (minus the croutons): Cream of Pumpkin Soup.

This dinner is easy enough for a weeknight (especially if you make the pumpkin soup the night before, up until adding the cream), but special enough for a Fall or Winter dinner party, I think. 

This pairing will go in our regular Whole30 rotation! I'm working toward publishing a four-week meal plan. Hopefully coming soon!

12 (now 15) Paleo / Whole30 recipes

I've been eating low carb for a long time, but have just recently begun to explore the semi-madness that is the Whole30 scene! Here are some of my recipes that are already Paleo/Whole30 compliant, or can be made so with minor tweaks. (Expect more in the future, most likely! [See update at end.])

Already Whole30-compliant:

Easy, make-it-your-own fish taco bar

Herb-crusted salmon - so easy, and restaurant quality!

BLT's without the bread; using foolproof, easy, 4-ingredient homemade mayonnaise 

Quick pork tenderloin with seasoned rub

12 homemade treats that aren't sweets (some of the items on the list are Paleo/Whole30 compliant; some are not)

Taco seasoning - no sugar, no MSG, no gluten, no milk, no hydrogenated nothin', no cornstarch or cornmeal here! (Check the ingredients list on the ready-made mix above; you'll be surprised!)

.

Paleo-ish, with the exclusion or adjustment of one or two ingredients:

Ancho-crusted salmon with avocado crema - leave out the yogurt or replace it with a splash of full-fat coconut milk if you're avoiding dairy.

Salmon with fresh tomato avocado salsa - one of my summer favorites! Leave out the corn if you're going wholly grain-free

Asian lettuce wraps - replace the soy sauce with Tamari (still has soy) or coconut aminos, and leave out the Splenda.

Brat and cabbage soup - just leave out the beans, if you're living legume-free.

Sloppy Jo'tatoes - requires a sugar-free BBQ sauce to be wholly compliant.

Update: New Whole30 compliant meals!

Coconut shrimp on spinach mango salad

Herb-crusted salmon with cream of pumpkin soup

Meatballs with marinara and Italian roasted cauliflower

Recipe Roundup: 12 Things to Do With Avocado

Just rounding up a few avocado recipes. Because they're so good for you!

Here are a few of my own, followed by others by trusted sources.

Salmon with Fresh Avocado Salsa

BLT's without the bread

Ancho-crusted Salmon with Avocado Crema

Ina Garten's Guacamole Salad, with my variations. 

(Note: it's not the texture of guacamole; just the ingredients.)

Turkey-Bacon-Avocado Sandwich. The photo is from Pioneer Woman, and her recipe includes some fancyin'-up, like pesto, but really, I think a simple sandwich of turkey, bacon, avocado, Swiss or provolone cheese, tomato if you like, and a bit of mayo on some crusty whole-wheat toast doesn't need a recipe -- and is just the best sandwich ever! 

Hint: When eating at Jason's Deli, order the California Club on whole wheat toast (instead of the standard croissant). Order it with steamed veggies on the side, and that is one guilt-free lunch!

And here are some others I've found around the web...

Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Chopped Salad (Can you tell I love avocado with bacon?) This looks so amazing! And inspired by a dish from a Salina, KS restaurant -- Go, Kansas!

Avocado-Tomato-Mango Salsa, from AllRecipes: 5 stars and almost 700 reviews! This sounds like it would be great on fish, pork -- or chips!

Kiwi Salsa from Simply Recipes

The top-rated Avocado Smoothie from AllRecipes.

Avocado Ranch Dressing, also via AllRecipes. (I like that site because you're getting the opinion of not just one person, but hundreds.)

Avocado Egg Salad, from Pioneer Woman. (I've been meaning to try this forever. Gotta make it happen soon.)

And to finish off our avocado buffet: Chocolate (Avocado) Pudding, anyone? from HowSweetEats.

Recipe roundup: Mother's Day menus

Here's a little gift for you: instead of wandering all over the internet for the perfect Mother's Day menu, here are four different options for you, each with its own theme. Almost all of these recipes can be made ahead, so you can enjoy the day without last-minute panic. And all (except the shortbread) are low carb. You get enough guilt from Mom; you don't need any from your food! ;)

Light lunch, light flavors

Want to treat mom to just a little something, perhaps before you head out to tour a local garden -- or mall? Serve this easy, make-ahead orange-cranberry chicken salad on lettuce leaves or in soft pita pockets...

 ...with this elegant, lightly-sweet and super tender almond poppyseed shortbread.

Neither of these dishes will weigh you down, but they will both delight Mom with their flavors!


Classic ladies' lunch, done low carb

What could be more classic than quiche? If Mom is doing South Beach or some other low-carb diet, you'll be happy to know that a crustless spinach quiche can be just as delicious as one with the traditional but high-carb pastry crust. I added a little Canadian bacon to the original recipe.

Serve a fruit salad on the side. Here, I've just drizzled fresh strawberries and blueberries with some sweetened cream. One cup of heavy cream or half-and-half, one packet of Splenda, 1/2 t. of vanilla extract. That will be enough for about six servings, and possibly some leftovers. So simple, but elegant and delish!

Oh, and about the quiche... be sure not to overcook it. You want it only just done, or maybe slightly underdone, in the center when you take it out. It will continue to cook a bit as it cools, and you want a creamy, custardy texture, not one like over-done scrambled eggs. A thin knife inserted in the center should come out looking pretty clean.

Finish things off with a vintage-y lemon icebox pie, updated by serving it in a cute little Mason jar! Just use my no-bake lime cheesecake recipe, use lemon instead of lime, freeze them a day or so ahead, and set them out on the counter 45 minutes before serving time.

Mother's Day with a Mexican twist

For something different, serve up my easy but elegant ancho-crusted salmon with avocado crema...

a make-ahead Tex Mex salad...

and no-bake lime cheesecake mini-desserts. Add a wee bit of triple-sec (if you're not philosophically opposed), and call it margarita pie.

Elegant and -- dare I say? -- impressive

If your mom is the fine china and real silverware type -- or you just want to treat her so -- here's a sure-fire trio. For the main dish, quick pork tenderloin with seasoned rub.

For a side dish, green beans with pine nuts -- which, trust me, is so much more than the sum of its parts, and as delicious as it is simple.

If you're not low-carbing it, some good bread would round things out nicely, then finish with a flourish by serving individual mini tiramisu cups.

And if mama ain't happy after one of these, well then, mama ain't gonna ever be happy at all!

Salmon with fresh tomato-avocado salsa

This is so simple, and so yummy, it's gonna knock your socks off!

The star of this dish is the salsa. It's so delicious! My husband took leftovers of just the salsa to work for lunch today (I made extra) and when he came home, he said, "If you would make some more of that I'd be very, very happy."

I had a bit of leftover salmon with the salsa on it for lunch, too; cold -- straight out of the fridge. It was still good!

This is based on a recipe from All Recipes, but I prefer butterflying and broiling the salmon, to the nuke-and-serve-cold method in the original recipe. Alternatively, you could grill the salmon; that would be fab, too!

You could also substitute basil for the cilantro. In fact, I think I will, next time I make this. I bet that will rock this dish even more!

I used white corn because it's got a little better carb-to-protein ratio, but I think yellow corn makes a prettier dish. NOTE: To make this dish Paleo/Whole30 compliant, just omit the corn.

Recipe: Salmon with fresh tomato-avocado salsa   

(adapted from Chilled Salmon With Summer Tomato Salsa, allrecipes.com)

Servings: 3-4

1 cup chopped fresh tomato

1/2 Hass avocado, chopped into about 1/4" pieces

1/2 cup corn (omit for Whole30/Paleo compliance)

1/4 cup minced red onion (a fine dice, or slivers)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or basil)

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 T. olive oil

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1.25 lbs. salmon fillets

salt and pepper, to taste

olive oil for drizzling

Chop up the tomato, avocado, garlic, onion, and cilantro (or basil). To dice the avocado, you cut through it like this, leaving the skin intact, then scoop it out with a spoon.

If you want more detail, see Simply Recipes' walk-through. (I do NOT recommend the pit removal method they show in step 2b; a woman I know cut some tendons in her hand trying that trick.) 

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients from tomato through vinegar. 

Refrigerate at least two hours.

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

How to butterfly salmon

The purpose of butterflying salmon is to make it all about the same thickness, so that it cooks more evenly. It also cuts down on oven time.

Put your salmon on a cutting board, skin side down. (Mine is already in the baking pan in these pics, but it will be easier to work on a cutting board; you don't have to maneuver around the rim of the pan.) Start by making a guide mark: in the thickest point of the fillet, use the tip of your knife to mark the spot exactly halfway from top to bottom.

The black line in the pic below shows where your knife will enter; the white dashed line shows where you will cut. The cut should run right through your halfway mark. 

On the thinnest end of the salmon, slide your knife in parallel to the cutting board, and at the same height as your halfway mark. Continue to cut, keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board. Stop about 3/4" away from the opposite edge; do NOT cut all the way through.

If you have been working on the cutting board, move your salmon to the foil-lined pan now. Next, open the sliced salmon up like it's a book, folding the top piece out so it lays former-top-side down.

Repeat with the other fillet(s), season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. 

Broil 4-6" from the heat, just till it flakes easily w/ a fork, about 8-10 minutes per inch of thickness. (That is, the thickness after you butterflied it.)

Remove the salmon from the skin; plate in serving-sized pieces; top with the salsa.

Try it, then come back and tell me how much you love it! :)

 

Herb-crusted salmon

This recipe evolved from a similar dish in one of my favorite cookbooks, Weber's Art of the Grill. (Which is now out of print, but you can still find used copies on Amazon.) You can grill it if you like, or broil it in the oven. The herbs get nice and crispy as they cook, and marry together in a wonderful, savory complement to the flavor of the salmon. Over the years, I've come to just throw it together by memory, and I tend to put in quite a bit more herbs than the original called for. (The recipe that follows is my version.)

It involves a little bit of herb chopping, but if you want, you can let your food processor do that. Then, it's just stir, spread, and broil or grill. So easy!

Recipe: Herb-crusted salmon

Serves 2.

1 lb. salmon fillet
1 handful of fresh cilantro, rough chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley, ditto
1 handful of fresh basil, ditto (or about a tablespoon of dried)
2 T. olive oil
1 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. chili powder (or ancho chili powder)
1/4 t. kosher salt
pepper to taste

Preheat your grill or broiler (whichever you're using). If using the oven, place the top rack about 6" from the heat.

If using a broiler, coat a 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray, a generous brushing of canola oil, or line the bottom with foil.

Chop all of the herbs coarsely and put them in a small bowl. They don't need to be finely minced, because they will shrink some and get crispy as they cook. Here's the cilantro, before and after.

Add in the 2 T. olive oil, the soy sauce, and chili powder, and stir till everything is well combined.

Lay your salmon skin side down in the baking pan (or on whatever surface you'll use to transfer it to the grill). Scoop the herb mixture on top of the salmon, and spread it around into a thick, fairly consistent layer. There will be bits of salmon showing through here and there; that's okay.

Once the herb mixture is on, sprinkle it lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to your liking. You don't need much salt, because the chunks are big and will be the first thing to hit your tongue. (I highly recommend kosher salt, but if you're using regular salt, use half as much.)

For the grill: Place the fish herb side down on the grate. I know, it seems wrong! You think all the herbs will fall off, but trust me. A few may fall off, but most of them don't! Our propane grill instructions say to turn the three burners to medium/off/medium. Do what works best on your particular grill. Close grill and cook that side for half the total cooking time. When it's half through, flip it herb side up, and cook until it's done.

For the broiler: Place the baking pan -- with the fish herb side up -- in the oven. Bake it there for five minutes, then move the rack down one row to complete cooking.

Your total cooking time should be 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at the thickest part.

When is it done? I'll repeat an earlier posting... "A minute or two before the recommended time, check your fish. Just poke a fork gently into the side at a thick place, and pull it up a bit to see if it flakes easily. You can also pull up just enough to see the interior of the fish, and see if it's done to your liking. Some people like their salmon a bit rare, so that it's orangey-er on the inside. Not me: I like it just done all the way through, but just so -- not overdone and dry."

Then remove from the heat, slide a spatula between the skin and the fish, and slip it onto your serving plate, herb side up.

Once you've tried this, feel free to experiment with your choice of herbs and spices. Let me know how it comes out!

You might also like:
Ancho-crusted salmon with avocado crema
Slightly spicy slaw
Green beans and pine nuts

Ancho-crusted salmon with avocado crema

This dish is delish -- I mean, truly restaurant-worthy -- but it's also super easy and totally healthy.

I have to give the hubs partial credit for this one.

I had made this spice-rubbed salmon for dinner one night, but hadn't really figured out a vegetable to go with it, and Eric was doing Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet (which is NO carbs), so I served the salmon with some romaine spears alongside and some ready-made guacamole to dip them in.

But instead of using the guacamole as dip, he put it on top of his salmon -- and loved the combination!

Since then, I've evolved the recipe a bit. I started out with a recipe called "Broiled BBQ-spiced Rubbed Salmon," from The Sonoma Diet Cookbook, but I've tweaked the spice combo each time I've made it, and I was really happy with the way it came out this last time I made it.

For the guacamole, I use Wholly Guacamole brand, and it comes in these boxes that contain individual-use packets. Which is just brilliant! If you just need a bit for a recipe, or you just want a quick easy snack, these are the perfect size, without the risk of the rest of batch turning brown before you can use it. I use the "Classic," but they also make a "Spicy" version.

Recipe: Ancho-crusted salmon with avocado crema

2 8-oz. salmon fillets, about 1" thick
1/2 T. ancho chili powder
1/2 T. paprika or smoked paprika
1/2 t. kosher salt (or 1/4 t. table salt)
1/2 t. granulated garlic
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. ground cumin
2 T. olive oil
1 2-oz. packet of guacamole (that's one two-ounce packet, not a 12-ounce packet)
2 oz. Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
optional, for garnish: diced red onion

If the salmon still has its skin, remove it. (Here's a short video that shows how. Here's a more detailed one. The directions for the filet start at about 3:00 in this video.)

Measure the thickness of the salmon at its thickest point. You want to be accurate to within 1/4". To do this, I push a toothpick into the thickest point of the salmon, then pinch the toothpick so my thumb and finger just touch the top of the fish. Then, keeping my fingers in the same place on the toothpick, I remove it from the fish and move it to a measuring stick. Make a mental note of the measurement. (Or a written note, if you have a short memory.)

Drizzle the olive oil in the pan, then spread it around. This recipe is for two servings, and for that I use a 6 x 8" baking pan, but for more servings, you'll need a larger pan. This photo is post-drizzled, but pre-spread:

Mix together all of the spices in a small dish. Before you begin to season the salmon, fold any super-thin edges under (or over) so that the thin part is doubled, and the fillet is a fairly uniform thickness across, like this.

Just press it down a little with your fingers; the fish is a bit sticky, so it will sort of adhere to itself.

Next, sprinkle half of the seasoning mix over the top side of both fillets. Pat the spices gently onto the fish.

Then turn them over and season the other side, using the rest of the spice mix.

Move your top oven rack to 4 to 6" below the broiler, and preheat broiler. Let the spiced salmon sit at room temp while the broiler heats up. Then place them in the oiled pan, folded side down, and put the pan in the oven.

Remember your fish thickness in inches? Now's when it matters! Cook your salmon for 10 minutes for every inch of thickness. So if your salmon is 3/4" thick, cook it for 7.5 minutes. 1" thick: 10 minutes. 1.25" thick, 12.5 minutes. And, turn it over once, half way through baking.

While the salmon is cooking, mix together the guacamole and the yogurt. I don't bother to measure the yogurt; I put the guac in first, then just "eyeball" the yogurt so that it looks like about the same amount.

Stir till well combined, and set aside. 

Have you turned the salmon over halfway through the baking time? Don't forget!

If you're using diced onion for garnish, now would be a good time to dice it.

A minute or two before the recommended time, check your fish. Just poke a fork gently into the side at a thick place, and pull it up a bit to see if it flakes easily. You can also pull up just enough to see the interior of the fish, and see if it's done to your liking. Some people like their salmon a bit rare, so that it's orangier on the inside. Not me: I like it just done all the way through, but just so -- not overdone and dry. (If you or someone in your house doesn't like salmon, it's possible they've only had it when it was overcooked, dry and mealy. Yuck! Who wouldn't hate that?!)

So when the salmon is done to your liking, pull it from the oven, put it on serving plates, and top with the guacamole mixture. Sprinkle diced onion on top, add your side dish, and serve.

This time, I did plan for my side dish: French-cut green beans (from frozen), steamed, and topped with sauteed onions and crispy bacon. The smokey note in the spice crust of the salmon played nicely with the slightly-smokey bacon. There's a dish dressed to impress!

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