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Mediterranean Salmon Salad

One of my favorite dishes of all time is Greek Orzo Pasta Salad.  Its one of those dishes I can eat everyday.  This time I wanted to change it up a bit.  After surfing the internet for hours, I finally came up with this Mediterranean Salmon Salad.  Its healthy, light, and super easy to make.

To start, you’re going to need some orzo pasta, kalamata olives, red onions, and red bell pepper…

Next you’ll need artichoke hearts & feta…

Delicious arugula…

& finally, 3/4 pound fresh salmon filet.

First thing you wanna do is make the dressing.  For this recipe I decided to use Becky’s dressing (its delicious). Its good to make it ahead of time, that way the flavors have plenty of time to develop.

Next you want to place the salmon in the broiler for 10-15 minutes, or until the center is cooked.

While the salmon is cooking, you want to boil your orzo.  This pasta only takes about 7-9 minutes to cook.  Once the pasta is cooked, you want to drain it, place it in a deep casserole dish, and pour 1/4 cup of the dressing over it.  Gently toss to distribute the dressing. (This will keep the pasta from sticking)

Once the salmon is cooked, you want to flake the salmon using two forks.  I love how crispy the outside gets when salmon is broiled!

Delicious………..

The final step is too assemble the dish.  To the orzo, you want to add your kalamata olives, artichokes, red onions, red bell peppers, feta, and arugula.  Using a forked spoon, gently fold all ingredients together and top with salmon.  Serve with the dressing on the side that way dinner guests can add however much they need.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb salmon filet
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup orzo
  • 1/2 cup kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup red bell peppers (chopped)
  • 1/4 chopped red onions
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1 14oz can artichoke hearts (quartered)
  • 2 cups arugula
  • Becky’s dressing (see recipe)

Directions:

1) Make recipe for Becky’s dressing, set aside.

2) Preheat broiler

3) Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, & oregano.  Place under broiler for 10-15 minutes, or until center is cooked.

4) Cook pasta according to package directions.

5) Drain pasta and place in a deep casserole dish.  Pour 1/4 cup of dressing over pasta and gently toss.

6) Once salmon is cooked, flake salmon using two forks.

7) Too the orzo, add olives, red bell peppers, red onions, feta, artichoke hearts, & arugula.  Use a forked spoon to gently combine all ingredients.

8) Top with flaked salmon & serve with dressing on the side.

Mr. Weekly Bite loved this dish so much he packed the leftovers for his lunch today 🙂

Here’s M’s kiddie plate.

I’ve gotten many emails asking if she eats the same dinners we do, or if I make a separate meal for her.  I’m a firm believer in only cooking once and not becoming a short order cook.  I always have her picky palate in mind when I’m creating a meal.  For meals like this I normally serve her a deconstructed version of the meal, and on the side I have a little bowl for her with the complete meal that way she can try it if she wants.

From this meal she ate all the salmon, all the orzo x2, two bite of arugula, and half a bell pepper strip 🙂

Have a great day!

15 Responses

  1. Nicole, RD said on January 4, 2011 at 7:48 am

    If it’s half as delicious as the Greek Orzo Pasta Salad, I’m in! That was a delicious dish! The dressing for this looks wooonderful 🙂

  2. Heather (Heather's Dish) said on January 4, 2011 at 7:49 am

    i’m totally drooling…the salmon looks perfectly cooked!

  3. Sarah said on January 4, 2011 at 7:57 am

    That looks so good- and perfect for a ladies’ brunch I’m holding soon!

  4. Lauren at KeepItSweet said on January 4, 2011 at 8:42 am

    I love Greek and Mediterranean salads but salmon makes it seem more special! looks delicious!

  5. Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) said on January 4, 2011 at 9:31 am

    Yeah, getting into being the short order cook is tough. I am finally out of that. This looks delicious Estela!

  6. Marisa @ Loser for Life said on January 4, 2011 at 9:36 am

    YOU are MY HERO for getting M to eat what you eat. It’s the one regret I have in raising my daughters and if I could do it all over again, I would NOT make seperate meals for everyone! Husband included!! LOL!

  7. Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman said on January 4, 2011 at 9:46 am

    This looks so good! I love all of it (OK, minus the onions). I’m with Marisa–you get bonus points for getting your daughter to eat salmon. As a kid, I would never have touched it.

  8. Ameena said on January 4, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    The end product looks divine but I must say that I a just in awe of ALL the photos! You are an amazing photographer.

  9. Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} said on January 4, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    I totally agree with (and follow) your philosophy of not becoming a short order cook. Meghan always gets what we are eating for dinner, usually deconstructed, like M. 🙂 Sometimes I’ll add something else that is a favorite of hers if everything I’m serving her is new or things I know she doesn’t usually like. Meghan loves salmon, too. It was one of her first foods when she stopped eating purees around 10 months. One last thing, this salad looks fantastic and I think I’m going to try it next week! 🙂

  10. emily (a nutritionist eats) said on January 4, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    This is like all of my favorite things!! Delicious!

  11. Chicago Cuisine Critique said on January 4, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    I want this right now! Yum – so light and refreshing. Exactly what I need after the holidays. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  12. Mo@MommyRD said on January 4, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Estela that salad looks fabulous! Ava loves salmon as well, so this is perfect for our whole family.

  13. Carolyn said on January 4, 2011 at 8:14 pm

    Wow! This looks super good even though I’m pregnant and don’t like the idea of fish. And I really could have used that salad dressing recipe last summer when I had a party and made a pasta salad that needed a better dressing. Thanks for the idea!

  14. Carissa @ Fit To Indulge said on January 4, 2011 at 11:43 pm

    Your little girl gets some tasty, grown up eats. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but.. up until a couple months ago I thought orzo was rice. I had no idea it was pasta until I overcooked it! Oops. 🙂