Pan Seared Salmon and Warm Arugula Salad

Has your new year been as hectic as mine?  Time is flying by so fast I find myself standing with my hair blowing in its wake…no wait, that is the Kansas wind.  It can be a real force of nature, no pun intended.  Anyway, how did it get to be the end of the third week of January already?

Given, I’m still pretty busy with the new house.  Although we have unpacked everything, hung art on the walls, and we are living normally in it, there are still many loose threads.

For instance, our pool table was reassembled after the move, then taken apart and reassembled, and finally taken apart again and reassembled.  See, the people who did it the first and second times got it really, really wrong.  So, I asked the moving company to please send someone else, and they did.  They sent Chilton Billiards out of Wichita.  The two young men who showed up were friendly, professional, and did an amazing job.  We can now enjoy the pool table with a surface that plays true.

Then there is a door knob to match, order and install.  There is a ventilation fan to be checked for sticking in the ‘on’ position.  There is a kitchen sink strainer trap that needs to be taken apart and puttied.  The list goes on.  The joys of a brand new house and the little kinks that need to be worked through.

And what I didn’t mention on my last post about our move is that Jack, our 14-year-old mutt and only remaining dog, caught pneumonia 5 days before Christmas.  That sent us rushing to Wichita at 4:30 am to the emergency pet hospital, where they determined he was in pretty serious condition and decided to keep him for 24 hours.   Later that night we received a call saying that he had a reaction to his meds and became unconscious.  Needless to say, we were worried sick and had a very anxious night.  Only to learn the next morning that he had bounced back and could come home.

Jack is a little bit frailer than he used to be.  He is mostly back but is on his third round of antibiotics because his lungs are not yet completely clear.  We have made two trips to the local vet, with one more scheduled at the end of this round of medications.  Kids, they can give you gray hair, even if they are older than you!

So, with all this craziness going on, I am trying to get back to a regular exercise schedule.  I even started beginner yoga at the YMCA!  I went to my second class today.  Here’s hoping I’m not as sore as I was after the first one!

AND I’m trying to get back to healthy eating, which is how this recipe came about.  Nothing processed, and low carb, and yummy.

let’s make a pan seared salmon and warm arugula salad

Steve travels more days of the week since we moved because he has further to go now.  So, I find myself making more meals for one.  This pan seared salmon was one I came up with last week.

I liked this meal so much, I made it for Steve when he came home.  And let me tell you, he was all over it.  He told me, “Lori, everything you make is really tasty, but sometimes you serve something I consider to be sublime.  And this dish is one of them.”  So, I took that to mean it was as good as I thought it was.  Sublime is pretty darn good after all, right?

This is what you need, and it comes together really fast!

Note:  the rub is one I have shared before in my pressure cooker pot roast recipe.

You can make this a one-pan meal if you sear the salmon in the same pan in which you cooked the salad.  But I like to keep the salad in the pan to keep it warm, so I use a different pan for the salmon.

Cook the olives, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in the olive oil with the pinch of oregano.  I leave the tomatoes whole but cut the olives in half lengthwise.  I reduce the heat when most of the tomatoes start to look wrinkled and some start to open.

When ready, I reduce the heat to low, stir in the arugula until it is well coated by the other ingredients, sprinkle some salt and cracked pepper, and let it sit while I cook the salmon.  The arugula will wilt from the warmth of the cooked salad.

Coat the salmon generously on both sides with the rub.  You may want to sprinkle a bit of salt too because this rub has a low salt content.

I don’t use a salmon portion with the skin because when you cook skin on fish, it needs to get really crispy.  And since this is served over a warm salad, the crispiness would be wasted.

Preheat a nonstick skillet to medium high.  Add a teaspoon of olive oil, and sear on one side until the bottom starts to look opaque close to the middle, about 3 minutes.  Then flip it over and do the same to the other side.

When the salmon is done, transfer the warm salad to a plate and place the pan seared salmon on top.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and your meal for one is done!

Isn’t it beautiful?  Velvety olive oil, tender, sweet and lightly acidic tomatoes, briny olives, and the zing of sautéed garlic and onions.  Add a beautifully moist, seasoned, flaky pan seared salmon and this meal is the bomb!  Cooking for one never tasted so good!

Of course, you can easily increase this recipe for as many as you like.  Just keep the ingredients proportionate and you can scale for two or more as needed!

Go out and get yourself some salmon and see for yourself how yummy this meal truly is.

Pan Seared Salmon and Warm Arugula Salad

Lori

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 17 mins

Servings 1

Ingredients

  

• 1 salmon filet skinless, 5-6 ounces
• 2 teaspoons more or less, Tone's Rosemary & Garlic Seasoning
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil divided, plus more for drizzling
• 1 dozen ripe grape tomatoes whole
• 3 teaspoons Kalamata olives cut in half lengthwise
• 1 medium garlic minced
• 1/4 cup sweet onion chopped
• 1 cup packed baby arugula
• 1 pinch dry oregano
• Salt

Instructions

 

• Heat a pan to medium, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the garlic, onion, tomatoes, and Kalamata olives. Sprinkle the oregano and stir occasionally so that the tomatoes cook on all sides. Cook until the tomatoes start to look wrinkled and some start to split (about 4-5 minutes).
• Turn burner to lowest setting and stir in the baby arugula and toss well to coat all the leaves evenly.
• Salt to taste and leave in the low heat pan to keep warm while cooking the salmon.
• Heat a non-stick skillet to medium high. While the pan is heating, completely coat both sides of the salmon with the rosemary and garlic rub. Add some salt, if desired (this rub is lower in salt).
• Add one teaspoon of olive oil in the center of the preheated pan and place the salmon on top of the oil. Cook on the first side until the sides become opaque approaching the middle. Flip and cook the other side the same. About 3 minutes per side.
• Plate the warm salad and place the pan seared salmon on top. Drizzle with some olive oil (optional).