Easy Salmon Salad with Green Apples and Sunflower Seeds

Image via wikipedia

Sometimes I need an easy lunch option and don’t have any protein leftover from dinner. On these days ,I like to make a salmon or tuna salad with homemade olive oil mayonnaise and flax-seed crackers. I get lost of omega 3 fatty acids with minimal effort. I paired the salmon with a green apple to cut the fattiness of the dish with acidity and tartness. For the lemons in the recipe, sometimes I juice several lemons at the beginning of the week and keep it in a container because who squeezes a lemon for only a little bit of juice.  I do the same with the rind and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for later use.

Salmon Salad with Green Apples and Sunflower Seeds

Ingredients:

10 oz cooked wild salmon (can be in a can, pouch, or leftover fillets)

1 medium green apple

2 tbsp sunflower seeds (unsalted)

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil mayonnaise

1/4 tsp kosher salt

pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, break up the salmon.  If you are using a salmon fillet be sure to remove the skin and check for bones. Remember to use wild salmon.  Even though it is more expensive, the flavor is much better and they have more omega 3 fatty acids.
2. Cut up the apple in a small dice leaving the skin on. I usually use organic apples because they are a more manageable size and I don’t worry about eating the skins.
3. Add the apples and sunflower seeds to the salmon.
4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. The lemon juice also prevents the apple from browning if you are going to eat later.
5. Mix in the olive oil mayonnaise. I like a lot of mayo, so I might add more than the 2 tbsp. Add what you like.

I pair this with baby greens for a hearty salad or eat it with my flax-seed crackers.

Olive Oil Mayonaise and Aioli

Image courtesy of wikipedia

Mayonnaise in an emulsion of eggs, oils, vinegar or lemon juice, and mustard.  The lecithin in the egg yolks stabilizes the mixture.  The first time I tried to make mayonnaise I used a whisk and I think that my arm was going to fall off.  Making mayo this way was a two person job. Since then, I have used a blender to easily make this concoction.

Olive Oil Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp whole grain mustard

1 tbs lemon juice or white wine vinegar

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the egg, garlic, lemon juice and mustard in the container of a blender or food processor.Blend until smooth.
2. Blend on low speed while pouring oil into the blender in a fine stream as the mixture emulsifies and thickens.

Aioli

Ingredients:

5 large garlic cloves peeled

Image courtesy of wikipedia

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 large egg

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

 Directions:

1.  Mash the garlic and salt together in coffee grinder until it is a paste.  You can use the small work bowl on your food process or a mortar and pestle. In a the large bowl of you food processor or in a blender, process the egg for 30 seconds.
2. Add the garlic paste to the food processor and add the oil in a this stream until it is fully integrated into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

You can keep this a week in the refrigerator.