Hello there! I’m here today to give you all yet another non-recipe recipe. And you know what? In my opinion, these are really the best, especially in the summer. Here’s what happened. Dinner time rolled around and I was stumped and lazy, as usual. I remembered a beautiful piece of salmon that I had purchased a couple of days before, and not wanting to risk letting it go bad, decided to base the meal around it. Next came the vegetable component. I don’t know about you, but for me, I need a vegetable at almost every meal, preferably even breakfast! It just makes me feel good. So I had some collards in the fridge, which is great, because I love to pair salmon with greens. Then I just needed to finish it off. Now, one thing I’m really into these days is putting things in corn tortillas. I actually used to be vehemently against corn tortillas, preferring their flour-based cousins, but I’m a convert! They’re lighter, they are arguably a whole grain, and they’re also small and cute. I’ll also add, and of course this is just a personal opinion, but I really do think that food is more fun to eat when you can wrap it up in a corn tortilla. So there you go… end of rant.
The “recipe” is embarassingly simple. I seasoned the salmon with salt and pepper and then pan fried it in olive oil until it got a bit of a crust. Then I threw it in a 400 degree oven on a baking sheet to finish cooking. While the salmon was in the oven, I sautéed the kale with olive oil, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon (and s+p, of course), and sliced up an avocado. All that was left to do was warm up the tortillas and throw it all together. So simple. A quick squeeze of lemon brought it all together and brightened it up. That’s it!
Quick Salmon Tacos with Collard Greens
1 lb salmon filets
salt and pepper, olive oil for pan
1 bunch of collard greens, jullienned, washed well
1 big garlic clove, or two small, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
about 1 tablespoon olive oil for sauteeing
2 ripe avocados, sliced
8 corn tortillas
1 lemon, quartered
Start by pan frying the salmon. Warm a glug of olive oil in a non-stick pan over high heat. While it’s heating up, season the salmon with salt and pepper. When the oil glistens and moves easily around the pan, carefully place the salmon in the pan and let it cook (without moving it) until it gets a little bit of a crust on the non-skin side. Remove the salmon from the pan, place it on a baking sheet, and put it in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness) to finish cooking.
While the salmon is in the oven, make the collards. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the collard greens (it’s ok if they’re still a little wet from washing, this will help them steam a little as they cook) to the pan. Add the garlic, stir to combine, and cover the pan to let the greens steam for a few minutes. When the greens are tender (about five minutes), add the cumin and cinnamon, stir, and continue cooking until all water has evaporated and the greens are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a hot dry pan, heat the corn tortillas, one at a time, turning often until they are heated through. Place the tortillas on plates (2 per person). Remove the skin from the salmon and break it up, dividing it between the tortillas. Add some collards to each tortilla, and top with avocado slices. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Serves 4.
Food*Nerd 