At Last! Man-friendly Salad!

I always serve up salads in our house with a little trepidation as to whether or not Joe will accept them as a ‘proper’ dinner but this one I’m about to share with you got a definite thumbs up and even the nod for a repeat appearance in the future.

The recipe (if you can even call it that) came about last week when Joe was away watching the Euros in France – as I said in a previous post, this gave me the opportunity to indulge in all the things he doesn’t usually like! Asparagus and strawberries are both in season here in the UK, and given the short time that they are ripe and ready to go, I deemed it necessary to work them into a dish together.

I wanted to keep it simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves. It’s a fact that strawberries and balsamic are a good match so I whipped up a balsamic vinaigrette, griddled the asparagus and merely added both to a plate with some leaves, cucumber, sliced strawberries and a handful of pearl barley for healthy carbs. To make this a substantial and balanced meal, I added a pan-fried salmon fillet; if you’re veggie you could sub an avocado…or perhaps even some goat’s cheese.

Asparagus is chock-full of vitamins A, C and K, plus minerals potassium, iron, calcium and folate. FUN FACT! That distinct odour that comes from your pee after eating asparagus…results from the breakdown of a compound in the vegetable. Your genetic make-up determines whether you have the gene for the enzyme that breaks down that compound and also whether or not you can smell it!

Strawberry and Asparagus Salad with Pan-Fried Salmon

Serves 2

8-10 strawberries, sliced

2 large handfuls of salad leaves

½ a cucumber, sliced

100g cooked pearl barley

2 salmon fillets, skin on and de-boned

125g asparagus, ends trimmed if necessary

Coconut oil, for frying

Sea salt and black pepper

For the dressing

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1. To make the dressing, whisk together all of the ingredients and set aside
2. Season the fish both sides
3. Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan and add the fish, skin-side down; fry for 2-3 minutes and add the asparagus to the pan trying to keep it all in a nice, single layer; turn the salmon over and continue to pan fry for 1-2 minutes until cooked through
4. Remove the salmon from the pan and leave to rest for a minute whilst the asparagus finishes
5. Add the strawberries, salad leaves, pearl barley and cucumber to a plate before topping with the asparagus and salmon. Give the dressing another whisk if required and drizzle over the salad