Grilled Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri
This recipe for Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri is adapted from the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. It features grilled salmon, a colorful and crunchy quinoa salad, and a vibrant arugula chimichurri to round out the dish. Make this recipe the next time you want to level up your salmon game.
¾cupuncooked quinoa, cooked per instructions(makes approximately 3 cups cooked), cooled
½red pepperdiced
½green pepperdiced
½red oniondiced
1small tomatodiced
¼cupcorn kernels(thawed from frozen or cut from a whole cob)
¼cupchopped cilantro
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Salmon: Place the salmon fillets in a pan or baking dish and season with the salt, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper on both sides (half on each side). Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the top. Turn the fillets to evenly coat, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Remove salmon from refrigerator at least 10 minutes before cooking.
For the Chimichurri: Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Blend for about 10 seconds on medium speed or until ingredients are evenly blended. Season with salt and pepper. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the Quinoa Salad Dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
For the Quinoa Salad: Mix all the ingredients together in large bowl and toss with the dressing.
To Cook the Salmon: Heat your grill over medium-high heat. Spray a fish grilling basket with nonstick spray. Remove the salmon from the pan and allow any excess juices to drip off. Arrange the salmon fillets in the basket and close the lid.
Grill the salmon for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or longer if you prefer more of a char on your salmon (up to 7 minutes per side). An instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part should read a minimum of 145°F. Remove from the grill, very carefully open the lid of the grill basket, and use a spatula to remove the grilled salmon fillets to a serving dish.
To Serve: Equally divide salad between serving plates, top with a salmon fillet and drizzle with chimichurri.
Notes
You can definitely grill your salmon directly on the grill grates instead of using a fish grilling basket, but the results are usually better in that case if you leave the skin on. Personally, I find fish grilling baskets to be so convenient, that I always use them for grilling fish, regardless of the variety. If you grill fish often, you may want to consider investing in one.
Any leftover arugula chimichurri would also be excellent served over grilled chicken or steak. It also freezes quite well, similar to pesto. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer frozen chimichurri cubes to a freezer bag.