Recipe Friday 8/24: Grilled Salmon with Summer Vegetable Quinoa

So today I thought of giving you a "healthy" recipe. It's summer so it's super easy to use ingredients with lost of fresh flavors, without even thinking about being healthy. Quinoa is an ancient grain that was used as a source of protein, that cooks up like rice meets couscous. It has over the years become much more readily available in grocery stores, which makes it easy to whip up a delicious meal with. It's pretty bland by itself, but can easy be mixed with delicious ingredients to make for a healthy flavorful accompaniment to any meal. Today I have paired it with salmon, simply marinated, nothing fancy, but just a lighter meat option. Again, you can top this with a grilled portabella mushroom, a tofu steak, chicken, pork or steak would be great too. This dish is a great way to sneak in veggies, and enjoy what the summer has to offer! So enjoy eating healthy this weekend and as always... Happy Cooking!

Grilled Salmon with Summer Vegetable Quinoa:
For the Salmon:
1-2 lbs salmon fillets
3 tblpsn olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed ad chopped rough
2 garlic cloves, zested or fine mince
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 tspn red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

*mix all ingredients together and pour over the salmon fillets. Cover and allow to marinade for at least 30min.

*remove salmon from marinade, and place in a preheated, oiled grill pan or bbq, skin side down. Allow to cook until pink through 1/3 of the fish 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness, flip, and depending on the temperature you want cook for another few minutes. If you like it rare, the cooking time will differ. For a MR center, 3 mins on each side should do it (again pay attention to the center of the fillet, if it's translucent, it will be MR, if it is cooked pink all the way through, it's Well).

For the Quinoa:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bunch/package spinach
1 summer squash, whatever color or shape you like, small chop
1/2 basket heirloom cherry tomatoes, some halved some quartered
1 clove garlic, zested or minced
1 1/2-2 cups chicken or veggie stock
1 tblspn lemon zest
2 tblspn olive oil (or butter...)
salt and pepper to taste

*in a pan, heat the oil over medium/high heat, add onion and allow to sweat down for about 5-7 min. Add summer squash, browning but not cooking it completely through. Add the garlic cook until fragrant. Stir in the quinoa and cook for about 1 minute. Add the cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed... between 15-20 min. Mix in packages of spinach, and lemon zest, salt and pepper, mix to combine, spinach should wilt nicely. Toss with chopped tomatoes for color and texture, and top with grilled piece of salmon. enjoy your delicious and healthy dinner!