Salmon with Cucumber Avocado Salsa

This was a risk - I had never cooked salmon before and I was hesitant to move away from pasta/rice/potato dishes. I'm glad to say it worked out! I will be keeping this recipe even though it is more expensive than my previous dishes.

I got this recipe from http://www.thespinachspot.com/2012/05/salmon-with-cucumber-avocado-salsa.html.

My version:

Salmon with Cucumber Avocado Salsa

Cucumber Avocado Salsa

2 avocados, cubed

1 cucumber, cubed

1 yellow onion, diced

3 tbsp basil, chopped

1tbsp olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Mix together, refrigerate until needed.

Salmon

1 salmon filet

1 tsp olive oil

Lemon juice

Rub salmon filet with olive oil and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice onto the filet. Fry the filet skin side down in a frying pan for 4-5 minutes on medium high heat until the skin is golden brown. Flip the filet over and fry the other side for another 4-5 minutes or until the fish is pink all the way through.

Serve with spinach or kale. 

The cucumber and avocado are hidden behind the salmon

The cucumber avocado salsa

Frying the salmon

One serving of salmon, salsa and spinach

Overall I am very pleased with this dish. It has a good serving of vegetables and protein, which is something I've been missing in the pasta dishes. I've discovered that salmon is very easy to cook and it goes well with the spinach and the salsa.

Notes:

I really like avocados so although I don't like cucumbers that much, the salsa came out well. I accidentally added parsley along with the basil so it was a little over-spiced.  I would substitute the red onion back in for the yellow onion - the onion was a little bitter. The salsa itself made 8 servings which meant I was eating it for the better part of a week - I'm sure cucumber doesn't freeze well but there must be a way of storing it. 

The 200g bag of spinach made 7 servings and the salmon filet made only two. In order to use up the salsa, I bought another filet a few days later, I made rice and served that instead of salmon, and I just had it plain with the spinach. 

It is really a meal that should be made for multiple people (3-4). Despite that, I enjoyed this recipe and will definitely make it again.

Cucumber Avocado Salsa:

1 Cucumber: EUR 1.18 at Tesco

2 Avocados: EUR 1.18 at Tesco

1 Onion: EUR 0.23 at Tesco

Lemon Juice, 1/20 of a bottle at EUR 0.79/bottle = EUR 0.04 at Tesco

Basil, 1/10 of a bottle at EUR 0.35/bottle = EUR 0.04

Olive oil, 1/20 of a bottle at EUR 3.99/bottle = EUR 0.20 at Lidl

Total Cost: EUR 2.87 for 8 servings or EUR 0.36 for one serving

Salmon:

1 Salmon Filet: EUR 3.00 at the local fisherman

Olive oil, 1/20 of a bottle at EUR 3.99/bottle = EUR 0.20 at Lidl

Lemon Juice, 1/20 of a bottle at EUR 0.79/bottle = EUR 0.04 at Tesco

Total Cost: EUR 3.24 for 2 servings or EUR 1.62 for one serving

Spinach, 200g bag: EUR 2.49 at Tesco

Total Cost: EUR 2.49 for 7 servings or EUR 0.36 for one serving

Total Cost for one serving: EUR 2.34