This is a very clean, light and healthy dish with every ingredient being high in cleansing or nourishing ingredients. I really like to mix long noodles with thinly cut vegetables, the dish is still hearty but full of extra vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Generally we think of salad as being a good way to lighten up our diets, and while that is true we benefit from more grounding, warmer foods in the winter. Adding the vegetables to the noodles after they are cooked but still warm is one of my tricks for getting lightly cooked vegetables. If they are overcooked or boiled in water they start losing nutrients and if they are sautéed or roasted then extra butter or oil is needed. This does what steaming does (without having to get an extra pot out)- it ensures that the vegetables are maintaining their nutrients but the light cooking makes them easier to digest and more appealing and comforting in this frigid weather.
Zoodles is a nickname for zucchini noodles, if you have a spiralizer it will cut them into thin spirals. If not, you can use a vegetables peeler to peel the vegetables into ribbons or grate them over the largest holes on a cheese grater. There are some tools called julienne peelers that look like a wide potato peeler but they have a serrated edge so they cut vegetables into strips the width of spaghetti noodles. Plastic spiralizers are around $40 and the julienne peelers are around $10, either one is a good investment if you want a fast way to get more fresh vegetables into your diet. Shown here I used a spiralizer for the zucchini (it blends in with the noodles), a vegetable peeler for the carrots and just a regular knife to slice the green bell pepper- to show that they all work well, with just slightly different results. If you want to make this dish even lighter you can omit the noodles and add in some extra vegetables.
- Salmon
- 1 lb wild salmon, pinned (bones pulled out if there are any)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos)
- Noodles
- 1 8 oz (230g) box of soba noodles or whole grain spaghetti noodles
- 2 zucchini, julienned
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 bell pepper, julienned
- 1 small bag snap peas (approximately 1-2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 teaspoon tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos)
- Optional toppings
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons green onion, sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- A sprinkle of tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos)
- Preheat oven to 400° and fill up a large pot around ¾ full with water and place over the stove on high heat.
- Place the salmon skin side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Mix together its lime juice, honey and tamari and brush it on top then bake for 20 mins.
- Once the water on the stove is boiling put the noodles in and cook according to package directions (generally around 10 minutes). Slice up all the vegetables now. When the pasta is done cooking strain it then add it back into the pot with the vegetables and dressing (olive oil, lime juice, honey and tamari) stir it around then place the lid back on and let it sit for a few minutes to lightly cook and soften the vegetables.
- When the salmon is done remove it from the oven, cut it into 4 pieces and remove the skin (unless you like it). Separate the noodles into 4 bowls, place the salmon on top then add on any additional desired toppings.
