Praline Salmon and Chickpea Salad with Curry and Yogurt Dressing

Ready for a unique yet fast meal? The fish here has hints of the South with its homemade praline glaze (made healthier!) while the accompanying side brings a burst of Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian flavors. They might be from different worlds bu these two fusion foods work together quite well. They also come together in just about fifteen minutes each (IF you have your chickpeas prepared) so this is a great meal to make on a weeknight when you're short on time but looking for something healthy and original.

As for chickpeas, if you can, use the dried kind and prepare them in advance. They're very simple to prepare but it does take a little bit of advance planning. The directions will be on the bag but will most likely entail you soaking them overnight or else boiling and letting them sit for a couple hours. I would recommend just putting the chickpeas in water the night before if you can - then they're all ready to go with no other attention paid when you get home and want to start cooking. You can always use the canned version in a pinch, but make sure to check out the nutrition labels. The canned kind packs in sodium with the dry kind is nearly sodium free. The nutrition below is based upon the dried ones.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 25 minutes
Cost: $15.18



Praline Salmon
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1/4 c pecans, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp fake butter, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 lb wild Alaskan Salmon (or other sustainable brand)

Get your broiler pre-heating.

Combine the black pepper, dark brown sugar, fake butter, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir well to combine.

Grease your broiler and put the salmon in it, skin side up. Broil for 7-8 minutes or until nearly cooked to your desired degree. Remove the tray from the oven, keeping it heating. Carefully flip the salmon so the skin side is now down. Brush the pecan-sugar mixture evenly over the top of the fish. Broil for another 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the topping. Serve hot.

Servings: 2
Serving size: 1/2 lb of fish
Nutrition: calories 527; carbs 24g; fat 27g; protein 49g; sodium 335mg; iron 2mg

Chickpea Salad with Curry and Yogurt Dressing
Time: if chickpeas prepared, 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 bag dried chickpeas (12 oz)
1 bag spring mix lettuce
4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c red onion, chopped
1/4 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1.5 tsp curry powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz plain fat free yogurt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Prepare your chickpeas according to the directions on the package. This usually means soaking them overnight or boiling and soaking them for an hour. As an alternative you can use canned chickpeas but they are quite high in sodium whereas the dried ones have almost none.

Put the chickpeas in a large salad bowl with the lettuce, tomatoes, raisins, and red onion. Toss well to combine.

In a separate small bowl combine the cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, curry powder, garlic, yogurt, and black pepper. Whisk until evenly combined. Drizzle over the chickpea mixture and toss well to coat evenly. Enjoy!

Servings: 8
Serving size: about 3/4 cup
Nutrition: calories 215; carbs 45g; fat 6g; protein 11g; sodium 67mg; iron 17mg