Blackened Salmon Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing

I am a big fan of dinner salads, but they have to be big enough to keep me full for the rest of the night. On that note, they have to be interesting/complex enough for me to want to eat a salad that big. This salad hit every requirement I placed upon it, and then some.

The salmon was definitely spicy from the blackened aspect, but the avocado ranch dressing was made from greek yogurt, which provided a great tang. The tang worked well with the spicy and toned it down. This was a breeze to put together, the most labor intensive part was just a bit of chopping.

Oh, and if you have some non-salad eaters in your household, serve them just the salmon with leftover rice, they will gobble it right up.
Source: Handle the Heat

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/2 Avocado, skin & pit removed, roughly chopped
1/3 cup of Plain Greek Yogurt
2 teaspoons of Olive Oil
1 Lime, juiced
1 tablespoon of Green Onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of Parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup of Buttermilk, + 2 tablespoons
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Salad:
8 cups of Hearts of Romaine, chopped, about 2 hearts
1 cup of Grape Tomatoes, halved
1/2 of a Cucumber, sliced thinly

Salmon:
3 teaspoons of Cumin
3 teaspoons of Paprika
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne
1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon of Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Thyme
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
4 Salmon Filets, 4 oz. each, skin removed
1 tablespoon of Canola Oil

Directions:
First, mix all of the ingredients for the dressing and mix well, by whisking or placing in a blender/food processor. Set aside.

Now, separate the salad ingredients into 4 bowls. Toss each bowl with 1/4 of the dressing. Set aside.

Next, in a one cup measurement add all of the spices, use a spoon to mix them. Press the spice mixture firmly on the salmon adhering the spices to all sides.

In a heavy pan, heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the salmon in the pan, cook for 4 minutes, flip and cook for 4 more minutes.

Place the blackened salmon on top of each salad. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
The Barbee Housewife