Peppered Salmon with Creamy Chickpea Dressing & Fresh Greens for Tyler Florence Fridays

This month, more than ever I have been appreciating the number of healthy but still flavorful recipes Tyler has both on the Food Network website and in his books. Yes, I won't argue that he has many less healthy recipes too, but he has a lot of good-for-you choices, with interesting flavor combinations that taste really great and make selecting my Tyler Florence Friday recipes easy. This recipe for Peppered Salmon with Creamy Chickpea Dressing and Fresh Greens is from Tyler's Ultimate (page 58), has some of my favorite ingredients: salmon, chickpeas, lemon, cumin, baby spinach, mint and dill. Plus anytime I can make a great meal in less than 30 minutes, I am game to try it.

Tyler says "Lemon-chickpea vinaigrette is an easy-to-make component that brings a lot of flavor to the dish while balancing the subtle richness of fresh salmon. Add a bag of fresh spinach and you've got a fast healthy meal you can make in well under an hour."

Peppered Salmon with Creamy Chickpea Dressing and Fresh Greens
Tyler's Ultimate, Tyler Florence

(Serves 4)

1/4 cup black peppercorns
1/4 cup coriander seeds
1 pound salmon fillet, skin on
extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt 

Vinaigrette
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika

Juice of 1 lemon

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bag (10 ounces) baby spinach
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 bunch of fresh dill

lemon wedges for serving

Put the peppercorns and coriander in a clean spice grinder and pulse to a coarse grind. Pour the mixture out onto a large plate. Roll the salmon in the spices until coated all over. 

Heat a 2-count of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is smoking. Sprinkle the salmon with salt, add it to the pan and sear for 4 to 5 minutes to develop a good crust. Turn the fillet and cook 4 to 5 minutes on the other side, until the salmon begins to flake apart when gently prodded with a fork. Put the salmon on a plate, cover with foil and set aside at room temperature. 

For the vinaigrette, open the can of chickpeas and dump it straight into a bowl, without draining.  Add the olive oil, cumin, paprika, lemon juice, and a little salt and pepper and stir that up. Spoon about half of the vinaigrette into a blender and puree; stir the puree back into the rest of the vinaigrette to thicken. 

Toss spinach, mint, and dill in a bowl. 

To serve, spoon the chickpea vinaigrette into the center of a platter. Set the salmon fillet on top and mound the spinach to one side. Serve with lemon wedges.

Notes/Results: Tyler comes through for me again! I love the combo of flavors in this one. There is the rich salmon with it's slightly spicy pepper and coriander crust, the cool crisp greens and herbs and the tangy, cumin-flavored dressing. Nutrition-wise, you are getting all the protein, vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acids from the salmon, fiber and minerals from the chick peas, vitamins A & K from the spinach. It goes together so quickly, you can make the dressing and toss the greens while the salmon cooks. I had a delicious, healthy dinner on the table in no time. I made enough salmon for a couple of extra meals and the chickpea dressing would be excellent on a salad or over veggies too. Another definite keeper for me!

Take a look at our other Tyler Florence Friday participants' recipe picks and see what they think of their choices at the TFF website here. There you will also find more info about TFF and learn how to join in on the fun and flexibility of picking what Tyler recipes YOU want to make each week.

Happy Friday!