Tender, flaky, salmon with a brown sugar spice rub, prepped and seared in under 10 minutes, and served over cous cous and fresh vegetables with a protein packed, delicious tomato basil vinaigrette. This is the lunch dreams are made of.
Brown Sugar Spice Rubbed Salmon
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Have you ever made something that was so delicious you wanted it over and over again? And have you ever made something that was not only delicious but also very good for you? That is this salmon.
As a food blogger, I am constantly making new recipes, and trying new combinations of flavor. I rarely make the same thing twice, unless it is a family favorite. But this salmon has graced our table several times now. It is absolute perfection.
My youngest, who is almost 4 is obsessed with fish. Salmon is one of her favorite foods, and she asks me to make it constantly. Since her older siblings are all in school, and often gone during the days, we get some great one-on-one time in the afternoons. We often try to eat lunch together.
A while back I got a meal kit from one of those delivery meal places, and it was a spice rubbed salmon and was served over cous cous. I have eaten cous cous several times in my life, but forgot how flavorful it can be, and because I enjoyed it so much, I hopped on Amazon and ordered some so I could make it at home.
I love making it for my daughter because she just calls it “cous”! Just the one! It is so cute. But anyway, that meal delivery salmon was great, and it reminded me how easy it is to make fish for lunch. It defrosts very quickly, so I can pull it out of the freezer that day. And it cooks very quickly, so even when I am pressed for time it is an excellent option.
I took my inspiration from the meal kit and created my own salmon brown sugar spice rub. I added some ancho chilies, and a little paprika, and of course, cumin, because I love cumin. And it turned out amazing. Because I struggle to get enough protein in my diet, I also added some Marine Collagen to the rub, as well as to the vinaigrette I drizzled on top.
I love Vital Proteins, and all of their proteins are amazing. I was super excited about the Marine Collagen protein because I got it in these individual serving packets, which are awesome for on the go protein needs. But I also loved mixing things up some. My son is a super picky eater, and he has had a few cognitive delays. We were advised to get him lots of protein, and it was a huge challenge since he only liked eating things like pancakes, and French fries.
As a mother who wants the best for my kids, and wanted my son to be able to function well, I had to find a solution to our protein challenges, and tough love, and forcing him to eat was not working. Then I discovered Vital Proteins. They will always hold a special place in my heart because they provided me a solution for getting my son’s protein where it needed to be without a fight. They offer odorless and flavorless proteins that are collagen proteins. This means they are great for skin, hair, nails, and even cognitive function. And you can add them to literally anything. Even water! Seriously check it out if you use any kind of protein, you will love it, they have a wide variety of options, and even have beauty greens.
My son can’t taste them, and I can feel great knowing he is getting what he needs. This is why I added it to both the rub and the vinaigrette for this salmon. It is optional, and doesn’t alter the flavor. It just makes it even better.
Holy Moly! And who knew it could get better? This stuff is delicious. Like downright tasty. I want seconds. I am going to make this three days in a row and still won’t be sick of it. Picky eaters rejoice. And fish haters consider. It is just that good.
I made it for my in-laws, and they lavished the praise. It was a good day.
So, now it is your turn. Please do yourself and your tastebuds a flavor favor and try this recipe. It takes less than 20 minutes to make it start to finish, and has texture, flavor, substance, and ease.
Brown Sugar Spice Rubbed Salmon with Tomato Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups cous cous
- 1/2 cup onion chopped small
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 cup tomato diced
- Fresh basil for garnish
Brown sugar spice rub:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground ancho chilie powder
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tbs Cumin
- 1 packet Vital Protein Marine Collage
Tomato Basil Vinaigrette
- 1 packet Vital Proteins Marine Collage
- 2 large tomatoes 1 1/2 cups tomato
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1 large spring of basil adjust according to preference
Instructions
- Start preparing cous cous according to package directions, which typically involves toasting them for a minute, adding water, and bringing to a boil. Add onion in after boiling, so it has a chance to soften and flavor the cous cous.
- Meanwhile, pat salmon dry, and set aside.
- Mix brown sugar rub ingredients together.
- Pour brown sugar rub on a plate.
- Grab salmon and press into brown sugar rub on each side.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil and pan sear for about 3 minutes per side.
- Mix tomato basil ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.
- Mix the cucumbers and tomatoes into the cous cous with 1/2 cup of tomato basil vinaigrette
- Plate cous cous mixture, put salmon on top
- Drizzle with additional tomato basil vinaigrette and enjoy!
- Garnish with additional basil if desired.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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