Grilled salmon and avocado salad

I recently caught some beautiful chinook salmon in Northern Ontario while visiting. We decided to drive so we could bring the jet boat with us and enjoy the local lakes and rivers. Of course once we landed a few big fish I was on a mission for a new recipe to use them in. Personally I love spices and herbs. To me there's nothing worse than a bland or tasteless meal.

For this recipe I made a spicy cumin lime cilantro dressing to go with this grilled salmon salad. If you don’t like it spicy, you can replace the hot pepper with a sweet pepper. The salad can be served as a main course salad, or as a starter or side salad. The salad vegetables can also be customized based on your preference, but the avocado is a must-have for this salmon salad.

Ingredients:

Spicy Cumin Lime Cilantro dressing:

• 2 medium sized limes, juiced

• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

• 1 hot pepper, seeded and deveined, diced –replace with a small sweet pepper for a non-spicy variation

• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, adjust based on your preference

• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro

• Salt to taste

For the grilled salmon:

• 2 lbs of salmon, cut into 4 pieces or 6-8 pieces

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon paprika powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

For the salad:

• 8-10 cups of lettuce or your choice of salad greens

• 1 large avocado or 2 small avocadoes, pitted and peeled, diced or sliced

• ¼ red onion, finely sliced, rinsed with cold water

• ½ cucumber, sliced

• Sliced cherry tomatoes

• Cilantro leaves

Instructions:

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For the dressing:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a jar, close it tight and shake until the ingredients are well mixed. The dressing can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.

For the grilled salmon:

1. Combine the salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and black pepper together

2. Rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and then with the spice mix. Grill immediately or save refrigerated if grilling later.

3. Pre-heat the grill until hot and grill the salmon to desired doneness.

To assemble the salad:

1. To prepare the salad, place the lettuce or salad greens in a salad bowl, add the avocado, red onion slices, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro leaves.

2. Place the grilled salmon on top, sprinkle the cilantro lime dressing over the salad, and serve immediately. Can also plate each salad on a plate individually.

Notes:

• Can also be made with halibut/sea bass, mahi mahi, tuna, shrimp, scallops, or your choice of fish/seafood.