Marinated smoked salmon salad with beetroot, avocado, green apple, almonds and red onion served with brown soda bread

Every once in a while I like to have some flavour packed salads for dinner, instead of a big feed. This salad recipe is a very easy one, there’s no dressing, no special ingredients or techniques are required so you can have this ready to eat in just a few minutes. As we don’t use any unhealthy dressings and only natural ingredients, this salad is packed with healthy ingredients as well. For starters we have some smoked salmon, which is a great source of protein and essentials minerals like iron. Of course, as with everything, you should only eat smoked salmon in moderation and not go and eat it everyday.

For this recipe I didn’t go for just normal smoked salmon, I went for marinated smoked salmon but you can also go for some cured salmon or just plain smoked salmon, depending on what you can find.

Then we have the beetroot! According to NHS, beetroot is a good source of iron and folate (naturally occurring folic acid). It also contains nitrates, betaine, magnesium and other antioxidants (notably betacyanin). Researchers have known for some time that juice may help lower blood pressure, but in 2010 UK researchers revealed that nitrate is the special ingredient in beetroot which lowers  blood pressure and may help to fight  heart disease.

But there’s more! This recipe also has some almonds in it, which are high in monounsaturated fats, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease. They also contain vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber, and are associated with a number of health benefits like lowering cholesterol. Last but not least we also have some green apples, which also have numerous health benefits and are packed with minerals, vitamins and fiber which are very essential for your body.

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients

• 130g smoked (marinated) salmon
• handful of almonds
• 1 green apple
• 1 cooked large beetroot
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 avocado
• 80g lambs lettuce & sweet ruby chard
• a few slices of brown soda bread

Preparation

As I said before, it’s very easy to make this recipe. Wash the lettuce and place on your plate. Slice the red onion up in thin strips and the beetroot in thin slices or cubes. Toss some almonds over your salad and do the same for the salmon slices.

For the apple and avocado you really have to wait until the very last minute, as they will start to brown very quickly. You can use a few drops of lemon or lime juice to slow down this process, but don’t go overboard of course or you will have a very sour dish!

Best served with some slices of brown soda bread.