Salad w/ Salmon, Roasted Hubbard Squash, & Quinoa
This Squash Salmon Salad consists of red hubbard squash, Thai dragon peppers, garlic, turmeric, ginger, tamari, and rice vinegar quinoa with salmon and freshly roasted red hubbard squash seeds. You can easily substitute any variety of edible pumpkin or squash that you have on hand as well as whatever fruits and vegetables that you want to mix and match. Rice cooker quinoa is an incredibly simple to make. As long as you add enough water for the produce to absorb, you can really add as much as you like and just hit the cook button on the rice cooker.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
Squash
- 1 red hubbard squash roasted & puréed
- red hubbard squash seeds roasted
- dash salt
- dash pepper
Quinoa
- 1 c. red hubbard squash
- 1 orange bell pepper diced
- 5 Thai dragon peppers minced (or pepper of choice)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. turmeric minced
- 1 tbsp. ginger minced
- 1½ c. quinoa
- 3 c. water
- 1/8 c. tamari
- 1/8 c. rice vinegar
Salmon
- 1 filet salmon per person (4 total for entire batch)
- splash olive oil
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- lemons sliced
Salad
- 1 filet salmon (per person)
- 1/2 c. quinoa
- 1/8 c. hubbard squash seeds
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- I used Roasted Red Hubbard Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires aluminum foil and a baking dish. I am a big fan of this. It's a medium-sized variety with dense flesh and a lot of flavor. You can easily substitute butternut squash, pie pumpkin, or other gourd of choice.
- I also used Roasted Red Hubbard Squash Seeds in this recipe. Although this is optional.
Quinoa
- Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger vegetables and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices and vinegar. And then add the quinoa and water.This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!You can also add the rice vinegar and tamari after it cooks. If you add it before, it will be a more subtle flavor that permeates through the quinoa. Otherwise, add it afterwards for a brighter pop of flavor. I go back and forth on which one I prefer and routinely do both.
- Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook. When the quinoa is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes. Then, fluff with a wooden spoon.
Bake Salmon
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place salmon skin-side down on a griddle or baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and add a dash of salt and pepper. Slice a lemon and place evenly on top of the salmon.
- Bake salmon for 12-15 minutes, or until the salmon begins to flake. Salmon tends to be cooked when it loses the bright color and you can take a fork and it easily separates. Larger cuts of salmon may take upwards of 20 minutes. Smaller, individual portions may take less time. It's best to begin checking after 10 minutes of cooking and adjust the cooking time to the doneness of your filet.
- This entire recipe will make 4 servings. I typically make 1 small filet per person.Otherwise, I tend to cook just enough for myself and then use the rest of the quinoa and lettuce for other dishes.
Salad
- Arrange the quinoa, salmon, and squash seeds on a plate. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve as a cold salad later on. When I know that I'm going to have leftovers, I'll oftentimes shred the salmon and mix in for a grab and go lunch.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- For more information on baking salmon, check out my articles on The Fundamentals of Oven Baked Salmon and Barbecue Salmon. I'm particularly fond of cooking on a well-seasoned cast iron griddle because you don't need additional oil or foil to to keep it from sticking. But there are certainly ways around this if you don't want to dedicate an entire cast iron pan to fish! Cooking salmon is also more of an art than a science. No two filets are going to cook in the exact same amount of time and there are definitely some tips and tricks to nailing the cook on fish.
- I also have an article on Quinoa w/ Kabocha Squash, Ginger, & Turmeric.