Salmon & Pear Salad

I used to hate salads. I thought they were boring and tasteless. Unfortunately, some are. Avoid those. However, I’ve learned that you can make salads that are dynamic, flavorful, and filling. Not only do I love salads now, I crave them!

One of my favorite things to do is to recreate salads from restaurants. Sometimes, my attempts turn out to be not as good as the the original, but many times they turn out better. Recently I went out and ordered a pear salad with candied walnuts and dried cranberries, and while it was OK, I was sure I could reinvent it with fresh, wholesome ingredients at home.
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I started with an arugula and spinach mix, added homemade “candied” walnuts, dried cherries (instead of cranberries), pear slices, and a piece of grilled salmon. OMG. This is my new favorite salad.
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For the walnuts, I followed Sarah’s maple roasted pecans recipe, which can be found a few posts down in her Summer Berry Salad post. Basically, coat walnuts lightly with 3 parts maple syrup and 1 part ghee, a sprinkle of pink Himalayan salt, and bake for ten minutes at 350. For salmon, I simply seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in avocado oil on high for about 3 minutes, then lowered heat to medium, flipped salmon over, and cooked for another 3-4 minutes. Once I put everything together, I drizzled the salad in evoo and balsamic vinegar.
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After the walnuts were done, this took less than fifteen minutes to put together. I made this for dinner, saved the leftovers, and was delighted to have it again for lunch the next day.