This nutritious poached salmon lettuce wraps recipe was delivered to us from Kristin O’Connor at Nourish This. By using a poaching technique rather than pan frying, Kristin infuses flavor into the salmon without the need for any added oils. In addition to the recipe below, she details a few added tips and notes on salmon and this recipe in particular:
Clean it: Choosing wild salmon instead of farmed reduces your exposure to contamination and pesticides such as PCB’s.
Green it: Eating raw foods reduces the amount of energy needed to cook your food, so keeping at least part of the meal raw is not only good for digestion, but great for the environment!
Make it Fun!: I think this recipe is inherently fun! It’s always more entertaining when you have to interact with your food, I’m convinced that’s why tacos are such a popular family dinner choice. Think of this as a slightly more sophisticated but just as simple version of an old classic!
Naturopathic Doctor Says:
Salmon is likely one of the healthiest forms of protein you can choose: it possesses high amounts of unsaturated fats that supply lipids for a strong and anti-inflammatory immune system, healthy cholesterol levels, and production quality nervous system cells. And poaching is one of the healthiest methods to cook: it is a low temperature cooking technique produces very low levels of advanced glycation end-products (AGES) and acrylamides, which are both naturally occurring unhealthy molecules created with cooking that can increase diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Native to Asia and Europe, Bibb lettuce is considered somewhere in between butterhead and iceberg lettuce varieties/ Bibb lettuce is low in calories, while still conveying reasonable amounts of vitamin A, folic acid and vitamin C. Lettuce is also a source of choline, a nutrient akin to B-complex vitamins which is needed for brain function and lung function.
Special Diet Notes: Light Poached Salmon Lettuce Wraps
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, and soy-free.
- 1 lb wild salmon
- 1¼ cups orange juice
- 1¼ cups vegetable broth, low sodium
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 1 tablespoon while peppercorns
- 2 sprigs fresh mint
- 1 sprig fresh dill
- dash large grain sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 head boston bibb lettuce
- ½ cup cucumber, sliced
- ½ cup orange bell pepper, sliced
- ½ cup snow peas, sliced
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup pure apricot spread (no sugar added)
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch fresh cracked red pepper
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Start by heating a deep skillet over medium. Add in poaching liquid, orange juice and vegetable broth along with the zest and juice of one lime, peppercorns, mint and dill. Cover and let simmer for at least 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, season your wild salmon well with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place the fish skin side down in the poaching liquid, cover and let simmer for about 12 minutes (could be longer depending on the thickness of the fish).
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add all of the apricot dipping sauce ingredients. Let the ingredients melt together become combined (should take about 2-3 minutes). Pour into a bowl for dipping.
- Once you take the salmon out of the poaching liquid, you can either put it on a plate and serve it family style or divide it into individual portions.
- How to eat it?! Take your lettuce cup and add a piece of salmon and a little of any topping you might like, drizzle with the apricot dipping sauce and fold your lettuce around the toppings like a burrito and dig in!
Calories 196, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 29mg, Sodium 57mg, Total Carbohydrate 18g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 10g, Protein 14g, Vitamin A 33%, Vitamin C 107%, Calcium 6%, Iron 10%, Vitamin K ~59%
