Imagine all of the flavours of a perfect salmon bagel, but in the form of a healthy grain bowl. Sesame crusted salmon, crunchy cucumber and lightly pickled red onion salad piled on top of some grains of your choice - you can find pouches of cooked grains in the supermarket which are perfect if you’re short on time.
Salmon bagel bowl
Serves 2:
2 salmon fillets
2 tbsp sesame seeds (I use a mixture of white and black)
1/2 cucumber, or 4 - 6 Persian cucumbers
1/4 red onion
2 tsp capers
1/2 pack dill
1 tbsp cream cheese or yoghurt
Juice 1/2 lemon
lots of black pepper
1 x 250g pouch cooked brown rice or grains
Heat the oven to 180C fan.
Start by slicing your red onion as thinly as possible - I like to do this on a mandolin. Get them in a big bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice. And season well with salt.
For the salmon, add the sesame seeds to a plate and lay your salmon fillets in the seeds flesh-side down to coat them. Lay on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your fillets.
Meanwhile, slice the cucumber and roughly chop the capers and dill. Add to the bowl with your onions along with the cream cheese or yogurt and a generous amount of cracked black pepper. Give everything a good mix and taste for seasoning.
Heat your grains as per the instructions on the packet.
To plate, divide the grains between the bowls and top with the sesame crusted salmon. Pile the cucumber salad over the top, topping with more dill and a squeeze of lemon then dig in!