This sensational salad tastes like summer in a bowl, perfect to liven up any event.

Want to eat healthier without sacrificing on taste? This vibrant Asian-inspired mandarin salad with salmon packs a punch in flavour and is so easy to make! The salmon is cooked perfectly on a skillet and beautifully contrasts the crisp salad with a citrus zing to create an explosion of flavours and textures in your mouth. The colourful mixture of different vegetables and fruits salad is also a feast for the eyes, perfect for festive events!

When developing food creations, we prefer Essteele Cookware due to the superior quality that produces perfect results every time. For this recipe, we used Essteele’s Per Salute Open French Skillet to ensure our salmon skin was crispy and released easily thanks to its superior diamond reinforced non-stick surface. Make this salad with any combination of vegetables and fruits - swap in your favourites or use what you have on hand for a quick and easy meal. This summer-ready salad is perfect for summer soirees, picnics, and simply great for weekday dinners.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

For the salmon:

• 4 salmon fillets with the skin-on
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt & pepper to season

For the salad:

• 2 Red Rich Fruits Murcott or Imperial mandarins (we’ve used new-season Murcott
• mandarins)
• 2 handfuls mixed lettuce
• 500g shredded fresh veggies or slaw mix (we’ve used carrot, red capsicum, purple cabbage, kale, beetroot and celery)
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped
• 1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon fresh mandarin juice
• 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 60ml rice wine vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoon honey
• ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ tablespoon ginger, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

For the garnish: 

• 1 handful of peanuts or cashews, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Method:

For the salad:

1. Using a sharp knife, slice one of the mandarins in half. Juice half and set the juice aside for the dressing. Peel and slice the remaining 1 ½ mandarins into rounds, then separate the segments.

2. Combine mandarin pieces with the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

For the dressing:

Combine ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine. You may need to warm it for 10 - 20 seconds in a microwave to soften the honey.

For the salmon:

1. Place the salmon skin side up on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil, then rub salt and pepper into the skin.

2. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.

3. Place salmon skin-side down into the frying pan and cook until the skin is crispy (about 4 minutes).

4. Flip the salmon fillets over and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

For the garnish:

Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and sesame seeds, and serve alongside the salmon.

Source: Essteele

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