Spinach Salad with Salmon & Dried Cherries

My husband and I have our favorite restaurants and many times we find ourselves in a routine of frequenting the same places for dinner.  It’s hard to try new places when your favorites have the meals you crave and they’re cooked just right.   It just so happens that one night, while in downtown Brighton, we decided to try a new restaurant called the Brighton Bar & Grill.  The atmosphere inside was nice, but as we sat down at our table and began to look at the menu, I wished we had chosen somewhere else.  The dishes were priced higher than what I wanted to spend for dinner, and in all honesty I was in a picky mood, and none of the dishes jumped out at me.  

Then I came across the Salmon Raspberry Walnut Salad.  What?!  I love salmon and this salad sounded very intriguing.  Listed on the menu were its ingredients:  walnuts, dried Michigan cherries, crumbled bleu cheese, red onions, and raspberry vinaigrette.  I was hooked when I read that it included salmon and dried cherries.   I decided to order it and hoped that it was as good as it sounded. 

When my salad arrived, my mood immediately changed after taking my first bite.  I couldn’t believe we had waited this long to try the Brighton Bar & Grill!   My salad was phenomenal!  The salmon was cooked wonderfully, the nuts added a nice crunchy texture, and the sweetness from the dried cherries made this the perfect combination.

The salad was so good that I was determined to make my own version at home.  I altered a few ingredients to our liking, such as using spinach instead of lettuce and pine nuts in place of walnuts.  I also found a wonderful raspberry vinaigrette at the store called Annie’s Naturals Raspberry Vinaigrette that pairs perfectly with this salad.  Store bought vinaigrette tastes nice, but if you have the time, making your own is not hard at all.  I have an amazing recipe for raspberry vinaigrette that can be made in as little as 10 minutes! 

This salad is so easy to make and it tastes refreshing.  I remember the first time I made it for my husband and I.  He had come from snowboarding and was excited for dinner until I announced we were having salad.  I actually saw his face sink.  Then he had his first bite and could not stop talking about how good it was!  Since then, he’s told me this is one of his favorite meals that I serve.  Not only that but he also suggested we should make this salad at least once a week.  WOW, I didn’t think it would go over that well!

Spinach Salad with Salmon & Dried Cherries

Original recipe by Alissa Hebert

Serves:  2

Prep Time: 10 mins.

Total Time: 22 mins.

Ingredients:

• 2 (4-6 oz.) salmon fillets
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons feta cheese
• lemon & pepper seasoning salt
• salt
• pepper
• raspberry vinaigrette

Directions:

1.   Pre-heat oven to 400˚F.

2.   Line a baking pan with foil.  Lightly grease foil with butter.

3.   Place fish fillets on top of foil.  Drizzle olive oil on top of fillets and use a cooking brush to spread across the sides and top.  Lightly sprinkle with lemon & pepper seasoning salt, as well as salt and pepper. 

4.   Bake fillets for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish flakes apart easily with a fork.  Place fish on a plate and keep warm.

5.   Turn oven to broil mode (leaving at 400˚F).  Using a sheet of foil, create a small rectangle with raised sides (see picture above for example).  Place on baking sheet and add pine nuts inside.  Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until nuts begin to turn golden in color.

6.   Divide spinach between two plates.  Top with red onion, feta cheese, dried cherries, and toasted pine nuts.  Place fillets on top of salad and serve with raspberry vinaigrette.