Salmon with Avocado Salsa

Name: Salmon with Avocado Salsa
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 people
Ingredients: 1 1/2 to 2 pounds salmon fillets; salt; 3 tablespoons high smoke point oil; 1/2 cup chopped red onion; Juice of 2 limes; 1 large garlic clove; 1 to 3 hot green chiles; 1 Roma or other plum tomato; 2 avocados; 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

User Reviews

5.0

21 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings
4 people
Calories
359 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
American

Salmon with Avocado Salsa

Elizabeth Hodge

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I use wild king salmon for this recipe, because that's what I catch. But any salmon or large trout would work, as would any other big piece of fish, really. I like this salsa with striped bass, mahi mahi and yellowtail a lot, and I bet it would be good with halibut, red snapper, cobia, redfish, walleye or black seabass, too. Don't skimp on the soak time for the red onion, unless you like the bite you get from raw onions. The acid in the lime juice really helps tame it.

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Ingredients

Servings

1 1/2 to 2 pounds salmon fillets, skin on or off
salt
3 tablespoons high smoke point oil such as canola, safflower, grapeseed or rice bran oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
Juice of 2 limes, about 1/4 cup
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 to 3 hot green chiles, such as serrano, minced
1 Roma or other plum tomato, diced
2 avocados, cut into chunks
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

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Instructions

Take the salmon out of the fridge and salt it well while you start the salsa. Soak the red onion in the lime juice; this helps remove that sulfurous taste of raw onion. Let the onion soak and the salmon sit out for 20 minutes while you chop everything else.
Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan large enough to cook all the salmon fillets. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. If you are using skin-on pieces, use a butter knife to scrape the skin -- this dries it out even more so the skin gets extra crispy. Lay the salmon down on the hot pan skin side down (or on the side that used to have the skin). Adjust the heat so the fish is sizzling like bacon: Neither an inferno nor a lazy pop. Let this cook undisturbed for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the onion and lime juice into a large bowl and add the garlic, chiles, diced tomato, avocado chunks and cilantro. Add salt to taste.
Use a soup spoon to baste the salmon with the hot oil. Do this on each fillet until the meat tightens a little and turns completely opaque, about 30 seconds per fillet. If you like your salmon cooked all the way to the center, repeat this process a couple times. Do not flip the salmon. Let the salmon cook for a total of 6 to 10 minutes, depending on how thick it is and how well you like your salmon. A thin salmon fillet, such as a pink salmon or a small sockeye or silver, will take only 6 minutes or so total. A really thick piece of king salmon or Atlantic might require a little more than 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the salmon from the pan with a spatula; it should come right up, or stick in only one or two small spots, and place it crispy side up on the plate. Give everyone some salsa on the side and open a beer.

Notes

If you want a starch to go with this meal, I'd suggest rice. Or you can break up the salmon and throw it and the salsa into a tortilla and make salmon tacos.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 359kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 12g (4%) Protein 15g (30%) Fat 29g (45%) Saturated Fat 4g (20%) Cholesterol 35mg (12%) Sodium 75mg (3%) Potassium 866mg (25%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 391IU (8%) Vitamin C 16mg (18%) Calcium 24mg (2%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 359 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories	359kcal	18%
Carbohydrates	12g	4%
Protein	15g	30%
Fat	29g	45%
Saturated Fat	4g	20%
Cholesterol	35mg	12%
Sodium	75mg	3%
Potassium	866mg	18%
Fiber	8g	32%
Sugar	2g	4%
Vitamin A	391IU	8%
Vitamin C	16mg	18%
Calcium	24mg	2%
Iron	1mg	6%