Winter produce meets bright flavors & citrus for a refreshing and nourishing winter meal. Serve with my favorite coconut rice, and you’ll want this on repeat year round!
I recently learned what a roll-cut or oblique cut is in cooking, and I’ve not been able to stop making dishes with cucumbers since. It is the perfect cut to maximize surface area for salting, and gives superior crunch. You can find many tutorials online.. it’s such a fun thing to learn and execute!! Check it out!
This dinner is perfect when you want something to refresh your body and are craving something full of nutrients. The flavors are beautifully balanced, and the crunch of the cucumber-pomegranate salad paired with the flaky fish is just chef’s kiss. We’re also adding fennel to the salad, because I genuinely believe at this point that fennel elevates any salad.
Ways to Customize
I think that the salad would be beautiful with some thinly sliced red onion or shallot, or some avocado for creaminess. If you don’t like fennel, you can omit it- but it’s really good here!!
I paired the salad with a simple baked salmon and glazed it with a bit of maple- but I think this would also pair beautifully with a honey Dijon salmon or even a miso salmon. Yum!!
Full recipe below, I hope you love it! The salad shines on it’s own- serve it as a side salad for a sure crowd pleaser.
For the baked salmon:
4-5 salmon filets, pat dry
Salt and pepper
Optional: honey or maple syrup, for glazing
Heat oven to 425F. Arrange salmon filets on a parchment lined baking sheet and pat dry, then season with salt and pepper. Additionally, you can brush them lightly with honey or maple syrup for an additional layer of flavor that pairs beautifully with the salad.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.
Crunchy Cucumber Pomegranate Salad:
3-4 Persian cucumbers, oblique cut or halved lengthwise and chopped into slices
Seeds of 1 pomegranate head (approx. 1 cup)
1 bulb fennel, white part only, thinly sliced
2 tbsp lime juice
Generous handful fresh mint leaves, torn or roughly chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Optional: extra herbs! Cilantro or basil would be great here too.
Optional: 1 large avocado, roughly chopped and/or ¼ cup diced red onion or thinly sliced shallots
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fine sea salt + more to taste
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss to combine. Serve with salmon over my favorite coconut rice. Enjoy!
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Have a wonderful Thursday, I hope you get to enjoy the sunshine and do some self-care today!
With love,
Abigail