This is an easy to make summer dish that will light up your dinner table. Fresh salmon is grilled with cherry tomatoes. They’re served on a bed of greens topped with a delicious life enhancing cilantro pesto. It’s super healthy, paleo, keto and Whole30.
With gardening taking up my free time right now, I find myself looking for a quick dinner that is high in protein with plenty of vegetables and not a lot of work. This grilled salmon recipe is one of those.
Salmon is definitely my favorite fish. I love to grab a piece of wild salmon, rub it with a little oil, season with salt and pepper and throw it on the grill. Nothing could be easier.
For this recipe I grilled a container of grape tomatoes along side the salmon. The warm tomatoes go nicely with the greens.
Once cooked, the salmon and tomatoes are served on a bed of mache lettuce. Mache is one of the most nutritious lettuce varieties there is with a wonderful nutty flavor. It grows in small, rosette-shaped bunches. Arugula or mesclun would be fine too.
In the spring and summer I like to keep a container of my Life-Enhancing 15 Minute Cilantro Pesto in my refrigerator to use on fish, chicken or vegetables. It takes only a few ingredients to make a whole jar available any time you need a quick sauce.
What makes it so life-enhancing are the herbs. The cilantro and oregano in this recipe have antioxidant properties that have been shown to reduce anxiety, improve sleep quality and lower blood sugar. It is almost magical.
In this recipe I use the Life-Enhancing 15 Minute Cilantro Pesto sauce on the salmon and I also mixed it into a simple vinaigrette as a dressing for the mache.
GRILL TIP: Preheat the grill to medium high. Scrape the grill with a grill brush and lightly oil it with a rag or paper towel dipped in oil. Having a clean well oiled grill prevents the salmon from sticking.
SALAD DRESSING TIP: Be sure your greens are dry so the water doesn’t dilute the dressing. After placing the ingredients in the bowl, drizzle the dressing around the edge of the bowl and gently mix to evenly distribute. Use your hands instead of tongs to toss the greens. You want the greens to have a light coating on them. Using your hands lets you feel how much dressing you need. Too much dressing makes your salad soggy.
Except for the Life-Enhancing 15 Minute Cilantro Pesto this dish has very few ingredients. It’s a colorful, vibrant dish that will undoubtably light up your dinner table!
Even though the sauce is easy, if you don’t have time to make it, have the salmon and tomatoes on top of greens sprinkled with a little lemon, olive oil and chopped cilantro.
If you like this recipe you may also enjoy these other grilled dishes:
Grilled Chicken with Immune Boosting Spices
Grilled Scallops with Grilled Tomato Sauce
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Grilled Salmon and Tomatoes with Cilantro Pesto
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This dish is colorful and vibrant with a Life-Enhancing 15 minute Cilantro Pesto that’s easy to make. It will light up your dinner table!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds wild salmon fillet
- Olive oil for seasoning
- Celtic sea salt
- Fresh pepper
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- 5 ounces mache lettuce or other baby greens like mesclun or arugula
- 4 tablespoons Life-Enhancing 15 minute Cilanto Pesto
Cilantro Oregano Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 2–3 tablespoons Cilantro Pesto
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Have your Life-Enhancing 15 minute Cilantro Pesto ready.
- Preheat a grill to high heat.
- While the grill is heating prepare the Cilantro Oregano Vinaigrette
- Rub the salmon all over with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper
- Place the salmon flesh side down on a lightly oiled grill.
- Close the grill lid.
- Cook 2-4 minutes depending on how thick the fillet is.
- Using 2 spatulas turn fillet over so that the skin side is down. If salmon is sticking let cook a little longer until it comes up easily in one piece. Try not to move it to help keep it in one piece.
- Turn the grill down to medium..
- Put the cherry tomatoes onto the grill.
- Close the grill and cook until salmon is just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the fillet.
- Salmon should be just barely opaque and a little darker in the center when done. If you prefer well done cook until evenly pink throughout.
- Remove from the grill.
- Cook the tomatoes until lightly charred and juicy.
- Remove from the grill onto a plate.
- Toss the mache with just enough dressing to lightly coat the lettuce.
- If there is any leftover dressing save for another day. It will keep for 2-3 days.
- Place the mache on a platter
- Place the grilled salmon in the middle of the lettuce and drizzle with a few tablespoons of Cilantro Pesto
- Sprinkle the grilled tomatoes around the salmon and serve.
Cilantro Oregano Vinaigrette
- In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, sea salt and Cilantro Pesto.
- Slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking with a fork to emulsify.
- Taste and add more lemon or salt to taste.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Healthy, Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
I love my garden and harvested the first round of greens this weekend. They will keep coming for a few weeks. Then I am off to Boulder to be with my son and daughter in law when they have their baby. I can’t wait to be a grandmother!
Until next time, love your life and enjoy the recipe. Please leave a comment below. I love hearing about your health journey and your thoughts and feedback on making your own delicious food at home.
Much love,
Ingrid
Thanks so much, Ingrid!
Wondering what brand of olive oil you use?
I have heard that a lot of olive oils are not really pure olive oil.
Appreciate your input!
Blessings,
Lorraine
Hi Lorraine,
Great question. Yes there are definitely olive oils in stores that are not pure. Here are a few tips when buying olive oil
1. Always choose extra-virgin, which is the oil that is derived from the first pressing of the olives.
2. Choose unfiltered.
3. Look for cold pressed
4. Avoid olive oils that say “pure olive oil” which is often a mix of refine and unrefined olive oil
5. Never buy lite olive oil, it is usually a blend.
6. Choose olive oil in dark, glass bottles. Avoid plastic clear bottles.
If you have a genuine olive oil it will get solid when refrigerated. When using the Cilantro Pesto, take out the amount you are planning to use and let it come to room temperature to liquify.
I like Whole Foods cold processed, extra virgin olive oil. It is a good product at a good price.
I hope this helps.
Much love,
Ingrid
Thank You!