Salmon with Avocado Mango Salsa and Cilantro Cauliflower Rice

We’re back! It’s been a while since our last blog post, partly because we just returned from an incredible trip to Europe where we explored Zurich, Switzerland, skied in St. Moritz, and biked all over Amsterdam. We had so much fun discovering such beautiful places, being outdoors and unplugged, and of course eating some amazing local cuisines.

Now that we’re home, it’s nice to ease back into our routine, which of course means making plant-focused meals at home. When traveling, we do our best to eat healthy and keep our veggie intake high, but it’s not always easy to do, and of course we love to indulge while on vacation. So when we get home, it’s great to reset.

When we returned, we didn’t have much in our fridge, but honestly, this is one of the best ways I’ve found to get creative in the kitchen and come up with new recipes. When we only have a few ingredients we are forced to figure out how to use them, and that’s exactly how this recipe came to be. We had a 1 mango and 1 avocado that ripened in the fridge while we were gone, along with some cilantro that was still fresh, plus some frozen salmon and cauliflower rice we keep the freezer, so I decided to make an easy mango salsa. All we had to do was pick up a few limes, a jalapeno, and a red onion, and voila, dinner!

This is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for those weekdays where you need to throw together something quickly, but it also looks fancy and certainly doesn’t lack in the flavor department.

When cooking any kind of meat, we can’t live without a meat thermometer. Since our oven is a little unreliable (and they all vary), this lets us know exactly when the meat is perfectly cooked, so we never end up with dry, overcooked fish – the worst!

Salmon with Avocado Mango Salsa and Cilantro Cauliflower Rice
Serves 4

• 4 salmon fillets
• Avocado oil
• 2-3 shallots, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 packages frozen cauliflower rice
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper
• Squeeze of lime juice (optional)

Mango Salsa:

• 1 mango, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced (or sub for a bit of citrusy or green hot sauce, to taste)
• 1/2 small red onion, small diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste

First, make the mango salsa by combining all ingredients. Set aside.

To make the salmon, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the salmon skin side down in a single layer in a glass baking dish and rub it with some avocado oil, then season with salt and pepper. Bake the salmon for 12-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Remove the skin to serve.

While the salmon is cooking, heat some avocado oil a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook another minute. Add the package of frozen cauliflower rice, along with some more salt and pepper, and cook until heated through, another 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cilantro to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Squeeze in some extra lime juice if you have it.

Serve the warm cauliflower rice on plates, then top with the salmon and some mango salsa. Enjoy!

Here are some highlights from our trip to Europe. Comment below if you would like any more details on our travel – we are happy to share and recommend where we stayed, what we ate, etc!