This one is light, refreshing, and tastes healthy.
It’s also delicious, and packed with protein.
Note: a little fresh Basil or cilantro would be a great addition to this salad.
gluten-free, paleo, pescatarian, low-carb
Strawberry Prawn Salad
200 – 250g prawns
Avocado
Baby spinach
1-2 Persian cucumbers
Slivered almonds
Garlic powder
Togarishi or other spicy mix if desired
1 pint strawberries
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp date molasses
3 Tbsp olive oil
Generous sprinkle black pepper
Generous sprinkle salt
Juice of 1 lime (about a Tablespoon)
To make the dressing, whiz together 4-5 strawberries, the olive oil, lime juice, balsamic, date molasses, olive oil, salt & pepper.
For the shrimp, season liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder & togarishi. Cook through.
For the salad, add the rest of the strawberries, chopped; the avocado, also chopped; and chopped cucumbers to a large bowl. Add the shrimp & dressing and toss.
To assemble, add halt the shrimp mix to a bed of spinach and garnish with slivered almonds.
Another great grab-n-go lunch option. These fish taco bowls are pretty great.
gluten-free, pescatarian
Fish Taco Bowls
500g fresh fish (I used King Fish, but any firm fillet will do)
Couple Tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch
Your favorite spicy seasoning
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
Juice of 1 lime
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
3 cups red cabbage, shredded
1/2 small red onion, cut into thin half moons
Small bell pepper, diced
100 grams feta (my favorite is Sheeze or Veg Life)
Good glug olive oil
Tajin
Salt & pepper
Preheat your air fryer to 400 for 3 mins. Skin, de-bone and cut the fish into bite-sized cubes.
Toss with a liberal amount spicy seasoning and cornstarch. Blast with a couple hits spray oil and air fry 7 – 10 mins, tossing a couple times and blasting with more oil.
While the fish nuggets are working, prep all the veggies and add to a large bowl. Add a couple glugs olive oil, the lime juice and liberal shakes of Tajin, salt and pepper.
Toss to combine and taste for seasoning. I ended up repeating the seasoning process 3x.
To serve, layer the salad in a bowl over some leftover rice or grains and add a hand full of the fish nuggets.
Makes 5 – 6 servings, depending on how much fish you have per serving
This is a great salad to make once and have ready to grab & go for lunch. Perfect for busy weeks.
gluten-free, pescatarian
Grab-N-Go Tuna Pasta Salad
1/2 box or bag your favorite pasta (mine is gluten-free protein chickpea pasta)
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 can tuna, drained (my favorite is chili oil packed tuna)
100g feta, cubed (my favorite is from Sheeze or Veg Life)
1 scallion, minced
2 Tbsp red onion, minced
Olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic glaze
1 tsp lemon juice
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Finishing salt
Red pepper flakes
Make the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, prep all the veggies and add to a large bowl.
Add the tuna and the pasta (drained) when that is done.
Add generous sprinkles of all spices, the lemon juice, a glug or two of olive oil and the cheese. Toss to combine, taste for seasoning, portion and serve.
This is a killer way to have weeknight sushi at home – for much less. It’s delicious, quick, and can be dressed up a bunch of different ways.
gluten-free, pescatarian
Spicy Salmon Sushi Bowl
1 fillet boneless skinless salmon
Hot spice mix (my favorite was made to go on chicken for Nashville chicken)
1 tsp brown sugar
A little oil
1 c sushi rice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 c water
3 Tbsp Kewpie mayo
2 tsp sambal olek
Avocado
2 carrots, chopped and air fried until browned
Sesame seeds
Furikake or nori bits
Scallions
Pickled ginger, sliced
First, make your rice in your preferred method by combining the rice, 2 fills of the cup measure, rice vinegar, sesame oil and a little salt. I cook mine on the ‘rice’ setting of my slow cooker.
While the rice is going, preheat your air fryer for 3 minutes. Add the chopped carrots, salt, pepper and a little oil and cook, tossing a couple times, 15-18 minutes or until your desired brownness is reached. Set aside.
Chop the salmon into bite-sized pieces and toss with the hot seasoning and brown sugar. Air fry 7-8 minutes, gently tossing once until browned. Set aside.
Make your spicy mayo by combining the Kewpie & sambal. Set aside.
Slice the avocado. Set aside.
Slice a couple scallions. Set aside.
Chop the pickled ginger. Set aside.
To assemble, layer about a cup of the sushi rice in your bowl and fill with desired toppings. Garnish with sesame seeds and furikake or nori bits. Drizzle with spicy mayo.
This is a luxe tasting but super easy to make main that pulls together from mainly pantry ingredients. A win-win.
pescatarian
Dilly Salmon Mograbiah (Pearl CousCous)
Zest and juice 1 lemon
3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 small shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Big hand frozen spinach
1 c Mograbiah (pearl couscous)
1 Tbsp butter
1.5 c stock
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper
Canned salmon
First, make the Cous. Heat the butter in a smallish saucepan over medium heat until bubbly at the edges. Add the cous and toast 3-5 minutes or until spots are beginning to brown.
Add the stock and a generous pinch salt, bring up to a boil, cover and knock the heat back. Simmer 15 minutes or until just barely al dente. Add the spinach in the last minute or so of cooking so it thaws.
Meanwhile, chop the dill & shallot fine and add to a large bowl with the mustard, drained salmon, lemon zest + juice, and minced garlic.
When the cous is finished, add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and toss.
This is a fresh, crunchy and satisfying salad perfect for when the mercury is hovering in the punishing zone and you don’t want to be bothered with having to face a hot dinner.
gluten-free, pescatarian
Salsa Shrimp Pasta Salad
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, boiled and chopped
2 cucumbers, chopped
1 jalapeño, deseeded if desired and minced
1 smallish red onion, chopped
1/2 c. your favorite salsa – fresh or jarred; I went jarred
1 avocado, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 box chickpea pasta, cooked to al dente and drained
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder (or chipotle powder)
Generous sprinkle salt, pepper & red pepper flakes
Cherry tomatoes and chopped scallions for garnish if you’ve got either
Boil your pasta to al dente and drain. Set in a large bowl.
Peel and de-vein the shrimp; boil to cook. Drain and set to cool.
Chop the veggies and add to the pasta bowl.
Chop the shrimp into thirds when cool. Add to the bowl.
Add the salsa, spices, avocado, lime juice. Toss well. Taste for seasoning and add a little more if necessary.
Top with the garnishes and serve. I ended up sprinkling all but the first serving with a little more pepper and flaky finishing salt and that was about perfect.
This is an addictive little hit of Summer sun in a bowl; perfect for those mid-Winter blues.
gluten-free, paleo, pescatarian
Sunshine Shrimp Chopped Salad
Protein
1 – 1.5 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
Juice of 2 oranges
3 Tbsp salt
1/2 yellow onion, chopped rough
2 cloves garlic, chopped rough
Hand full cilantro
3 c water
First, poach your shrimp in the mix above a couple minutes or until cooked through. Remove. If your shrimp were frozen and pre-cooked like mine, heat till warmed through. You’ll still get a bit of that delicious poaching liquid taste. It’s fine.
Dressing
4 Tbsp cashew butter
1 tsp your favorite sweetener (I used date molasses)
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tsp sambal olek
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Sprinkle salt & pepper
Salad Base
Couple hand fulls green beans per serving, cut in thirds and poached in the shrimp liquid until crisp-tender
1/2 avocado per serving
1/2 – whole segmented and chopped orange per serving
6-10 cherry tomatoes, halved, per serving
Sprinkle soy
Sprinkle sesame seeds
Sprinkle flaky salt
How many this serves depends on how starving you are – this *could* serve 2 for lunch as written, or just a really hungry me. You do you
This recipe started off as a way to use up some fresh dill that wasn’t my favorite egg salad and somehow ended up morphing into a riff of an old Summer family favorite: seafood salad. Which I can’t believe I haven’t shared a recipe with y’all for yet. I c-r-a-v-e it every tomato season.
The original (to my family at least) salad included Krab, shrimp, hard boiled eggs & lots of mayo. Sometimes, depending upon which Aunt got a wild hair, chopped up bits of lettuce. Which is weird, but good.
Anyways. I gave myself an aversion to fake crab my first Summer out of high school (reminder, kids: check your expiration dates), so that was out. I swapped with flaked salmon but kept the shrimp in this version; I also sadly forgot the egg until I was eating trying to figure out what was missing. I was also wanting a little more mustard punch, so adjust yours as necessary.
And a note on seasoning: I happen to love this salad with way too much pepper and salt, because that’s how my family usually served it. This recipe includes a normal amount of each (depending on how HAM you go with the cracked pepper); I had to go back twice for more after the salad hit the fridge.
gluten-free, pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan with substitutions
Avocado Dill Pasta Salad
Dressing:
1 avocado (mine was small and I could have gone for more)
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. water
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salad:
4 – 6 cups pasta of choice (I used rice spirals)
15 cherry tomatoes
1 smallish cucumber (about 2/3 cup chopped)
1 smallish bell pepper (about 1 cup chopped)
2 – 4 stalks celery (about 3/4 cup chopped)
1/2 shallot, minced
2 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. celery seed (if using celery salt instead, you may not need to salt the salad – taste, taste, taste)
Loads of fresh cracked black pepper
Salt
Shrimp (I used 13 medium), peeled, cooked & chopped (optional)
Krab, crab or salmon (also optional)
2 – 3 Tbsp. your favorite mayo (optional)
Start you pasta boiling according to package directions, taking care to salt the water. When almost done, chuck your shrimp in to cook. Drain and set aside.
Pull the shrimp and chop. Add to a large bowl.
Chop the cucumber, bell pepper, celery, scallion and parsley. Add to the big bowl.
Mince the shallot and add. Halve the tomatoes and add those too. Add the celery seed.
In a blender or food processor, blitz all dressing ingredients until smooth. If you want your dressing a little runny, add more water until desired consistency is reached. Mine turned out a bit thick, which I liked, but I ended up adding 2 – 3 Tbsp. Kewpie mayo to the salad to loosen it a bit.
Add the cooled-ish pasta and dressing to the bowl. Mix well to combine. Hit with a bunch of pepper. Taste. Add more salt, lemon juice or some mayo to finish off.
Stash in the fridge for a bit to chill and let the flavors get acquainted.
Gastography 