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! :)