Lean Mean Green Salmon

My favorite season is finally upon us. The air is crisper, bakeries, coffee shops, and specialty stores are rolling out everything pumpkin spice, fall decorations are available for purchase everywhere, and I can't wait to start breaking out the fall/winter recipes! But first, I decided to make one last summery dish that was just too good to pass up.

The name for this recipe is Salmon with Spicy Pineapple-Cucumber Salsa. This recipe had so many green ingredients that I felt it needed a different name, so from here on out it'll be known as Lean Mean Green Salmon. 

A trip to the farmer's market was in order to pick up a pineapple and the other fresh ingredients. This was the first time I had ever cut up a pineapple! I could've cheated and bought canned but where's the fun in that?

For this recipe you will need:

1 cup or so of fresh pineapple, diced

1 cucumber, diced 

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

2 scallions, chopped

1/4 basil leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

The juice of 1 lime 

2-4 salmon filets

Salt and pepper 

To start, prep all of your ingredients! I thought about Googling how to cut up a pineapple but decided to freestyle instead from what I could remember from cooking shows, which was cutting it into a square. I succeeded in this but I definitely took too much off the sides therefore wasting more pineapple than was necessary. Next time I may do a little YouTubing just to make sure I get it right. But as long as there's enough for the recipe then you're set! 

Once all of your ingredients are ready, mix the pineapple, cucumber, jalapeno, scallions, basil, 1 tablespoon of oil, the lime juice, and honey into a bowl and set aside. (As a side note, I have a handheld juicer for citrus fruits that is absolutely amazing that gets as much juice out as possible while preventing those annoying seeds from dropping into whatever you're making. They're super cheap and I highly recommend you get one!)

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat and season the salmon with salt and pepper. Cook skin side down for 4-6 minutes until crispy, then flip and cook for another 2-4 minutes until heated through. Once done plate and top with the salsa! 

The salmon got this beautiful golden crust on it from the oil that you can see pictured above. Once topped with the salsa it was so fresh and light and it's definitely a dinner you feel good about eating. The salsa also isn't too spicy.

I was struggling to think of a side to go with it, so after raiding my freezer and coming up with a huge bag of frozen corn, I looked to Pinterest for a quick fix. What I came up with was simple and so yummy and all of the ingredients are things you probably have in your house already.

Simply heat 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine in a saute pan over medium heat. Add in however much corn you'd like, then season with garlic powder and paprika. Heat through, stirring occasionally, and then add in parmesan or an Italian cheese mix. This was so creamy and tasty!