I love potatoes…  mashed, piped, steamed, oven baked, with cheese, without cheese… I just love potatoes.  And I also love salmon fillet, so what better then to combine both?  Add on a healthy salad of cucumber, fresh leaf spinach and avocado, sprinkled with lemon juice and olive oil, and we have a nice yummy dinner that doesn’t take too long to bring out of your kitchen.

Ingredients (per person):

• 5 small potatoes, peeled and rinsed
• 1 portion of Salmon fillet, approx 100 – 150 gr in weight
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 6-8 cm cucumber
• 1/3 lemon for juicing
• some olive oil for dressing
• salt, pepper, nutmeg, milk, butter for the puree

Method:

For the Salad:

First we prepare the baby spinach by simply rinsing to remove any soil.  If the leaves are rather large, I would remove the stems before rinsing.  Set aside in a bowl.

Half your avocado and discard the peel.  Then carefully dice the half avocado and add to the spinach.

Rinse and peel the 6-8 cm of cucumber, and slice thinly.  Then cut the slices into strips and add in the bowl to the other vegetables.  Toss carefully as not to mash the avocado, and season with pepper and salt.  Also drizzle some olive oil over the salad and squeeze lemon juice out of the lemon.  I can’t really say how much juice or olive oil, as this depends on your taste.  Toss the salad and place on one side of the plate.

For the potatoes:

Peel and rinse your potatoes, and discard the peel.  Boil in salted water for 15 – 20 minutes until your potatoes are very soft.  When you prick them with a fork, the fork should slide through them like butter.  Drain the potatoes and replace on the heat, to dry them up.  Add on some milk, enough to cover the bottom of your pan, and bring to the boil. Add on some butter and season with pepper, salt and nutmeg. Now take your pan off the heat, and mash the potatoes with a potato masher till smooth and most if not all pieces are mashed. Taste and add more salt and pepper, or nutmeg as required. Should you feel the puree is fairly dry, feel free to add on a little more milk and stir. Ideally you’ll end up with a purée which is soft, tasty and forms soft peaks.  Set aside with a lid on to keep warm

For the Salmon:

Take a skillet and add on some butter or for a change, some sesame oil and turn up the heat.  Once you can see the oil heated up, add on the salmon on the skin side. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cook halfway through.  Lower the heat and flip the salmon over on the uncooked side.  Let the salmon bake for 10 – 15 minutes till cooked through.

To serve, take your large plate with the side salad and put in front of you.  On the opposite side of the salad, put a few spoons of your creamy soft puree. Gently place your salmon on top of the puree, and serve with a slice of lemon, if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!