Salmon Bowl – Healthy Food on a Round Plate

The rice and quinoa base

1. My daughter and I decided to make a salmon bowl using ready-made store-bought fish. Though if you can, it is better to salt a trout yourself or another red-fleshed fish. A plate of hearty, tasty food with the maximum of vitamins – we really liked it. It is not difficult to make at all.

   

   Only the rice and quinoa need preparation; all the other ingredients are ready to eat. For the rice, use basmati or parboiled – they simply boil and come out very fluffy.

2. Cook the rice in twice its volume of water until done: bring to a boil over high heat, then cook over low heat under a lid for about 15 mins, until the water is absorbed. Let the rice cool to room temperature.

3. Cook the quinoa and mix it with the rice. Boil the quinoa in plain water over medium heat – 8-10 mins is enough for the grains to soften. Then drain the water and let the quinoa cool. Combine the cooked rice and quinoa and mix well.

   

Assembling the bowl

1. Put the base into deep round bowls. Divide the rice and quinoa mixture in half, put it on the bottom of the bowls and press down lightly. Then put all the other ingredients into each bowl in equal amounts.

2. Add the avocado and salmon. Peel the avocado – the skin comes off easily. Cut the fruit in half and remove the pit. Slice the flesh into thin pieces and lay them on the rice. Roll thin slices of lightly salted salmon into tubes and place them next to the avocado.

   

4. Add the cheese and cherry tomatoes. Cut the cheese into cubes or strips, halve the small cherry tomatoes and put them on the rice.

   You can use any cheese for this dish – whatever you like. We prefer fairly soft cheeses with a distinctly sharp taste. Mimolette works well – it has a pleasant flavor and an orange color. If you like, you can use cheddar or blue cheeses.

   

5. Add the roasted nuts and greens. We always add nuts to a bowl – cashews or peanuts. They give the dish a special flavor and are also a good, healthy source of fat. For greens, spinach or lettuce is ideal; tear it into pieces with your fingers. So-called baby spinach is a good option – the leaves are small and don’t even need tearing.

   

6. Add a few sprouts and a quarter of a lime – you will squeeze it over the vegetables as part of the dressing.

   An important and very healthy ingredient in such dishes is sprouts, or sprouted grain seeds. Microgreens are sold in stores in small boxes – usually one is enough for 2-3 servings of salad. We bought alfalfa sprouts, but you can use other plants too. By the way, sprouts are ready to eat and don’t need washing.

   

Serving

1. Sprinkle the bowl with white or black sesame seeds and dress it. It is beautiful, healthy and tasty. For the dressing we used a mix of olive oil and a little soy sauce: stir them together and pour over the dish before serving. The dish will also get lime juice squeezed over it during the meal. Serve it at room temperature.

   

   You can add other ingredients to the dish if you like. Olive oil can be replaced with sesame oil. Besides soy sauce, you can use mushroom, oyster or Worcestershire sauce. Cucumbers go well if they are young and juicy. Don’t use pungent vegetables such as onion, garlic or chili.