Looking for a delicious dinner that’ll help ease you into a top notch slumber? We’ve just the ticket. This hearty salmon salad with quinoa and orange miso dressing is not only packed with good proteins and fats. It also has sleep-boosting magnesium from the salmon and an extra dose of vitamin C from the citrusy dressing that all helps with getting those quality zzz's.
salmon salad
ingredients (and their snooze-inducing benefits)
Serves 2
- 2 oranges (full of antioxidants and vitamin C which are shown to calm fidgety adults)
- 2 spring onions (rich in L-tryptophan, a form of amino acid that acts as a natural sedative)
- 1 avocado (bursting with healthy fats that increase serotonin levels and induce sleep)
- 200g skin-on salmon fillets (great source of vitamin B6 and magnesium, which both boost sleep hormones)
- 80g sugar snap peas (can increase levels of melatonin, the happy hormone)
- 70g quinoa (high in magnesium and protein which are essential for sleep)
- 50g rocket (high in calcium and magnesium which both relax twitchy muscles)
- 5g coriander (known to support top quality zzz’s)
- 5g sesame seeds (rich in amino acid Tryptophan which is is used by the brain to make sleep hormones serotonin and melatonin)
- 15ml rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
method
- Rinse the quinoa in a sieve under cold running water. Add the quinoa to a pot with 180ml cold water, cover and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for 18-20 min or until all the water has absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Once cooked, remove from the heat and leave to steam-dry, uncovered, until serving.
- Meanwhile, heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the salmon fillets and season with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 6-7 min, turning once halfway, or until cooked through. Tip: Your fish is cooked through when it’s opaque and flakes easily.
- While the salmon is cooking, cut the orange in half. Then combine the juice of the orange with the miso paste, rice vinegar, 1 tbsp vegetable oil and a generous pinch of salt in a small bowl – this is your tasty orange-miso dressing.
- Peel the remaining orange and slice finely. Cut the sugar snap peas in half lengthways. Trim, then slice the spring onion. Chop the coriander roughly, including the stalks.
- Cut the avocado in half lengthways around the stone. Remove the stone using a teaspoon, then scoop the avocado out of the skin using a spoon and slice it finely, lengthways.
- Add the rocket, cooked quinoa, sliced spring onion, sugar snap peas and coriander to a large bowl. Add most of the orange miso dressing and give it a gentle mix up – this is your quinoa salad.
- Divide the quinoa salad between plates. Top with the orange slices, sliced avocado and the cooked salmon. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and garnish with the sesame seeds, then grab your knife and fork and dive in. Mmmmm
