greek salmon grain bowls.
just a super simple weeknight grain bowl, filled with lemony onion couscous and red pepper kale. perfect for lunch, dinner, or meal prepping.
Makes: 4 servings Prep time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes jump to recipe.
Every couple of months I have a moment of clarity that goes something like this:
“No one really wants to spend two hours rolling meatballs into homemade pitas and mixing together seven different sauces just for a weeknight dinner” (If you do, here’s the recipe, and it’s only 2 sauces).
Then I spiral for a few days, trying to come up with recipes that are all at once inspiring, easy, unintimidating, and complex. As you can imagine, this ends up kind of weird, with recipes I really never think about again (I’m so sorry, but I’m thinking about the cornish hens).
There’s been some good ones, don’t get me wrong — chorizo chili, butternut squash chili, mostly chilis, I guess. In my latest moment of reflection, I realized I could just start sharing the food I really like to make on the regular, things I thought were too boring to add to the internet.
Truthfully, you could probably find a recipe just like this one 100 times on Pinterest, but I’m going to share exactly how I like it just in case it’s exactly how you like it, too.
Salmon vs. any other fish
Salmon is my favorite food, it’s as simple as that. If I continue this trend of sharing recipes I really enjoy, it’ll probably be a lot of salmon. It works with all the other flavors I enjoy like lemon, chipotle, bourbon, and cream, and the texture and fishy flavor is perfect for pairing with rice and similar grains.
But I know it’s not everyone’s favorite. For this particular recipe, you can swap in just about anything, including chicken or steak. Use the same seasoning method and brown it in olive oil, and almost any protein will pair with the couscous and kale. I’d recommend chicken breasts, skirt steak, tilapia, and halibut (Personally I don’t like cod, but if you do, this would work well here). I think kale is too bitter for shrimp, so that’s the only thing I’d stray from here.
Meal prepping
This is the easiest thing to meal prep and store. Make a big batch of couscous, sear a couple salmon filets, and sauté the whole damn package of kale, then divide it evenly into your prep containers. Because everything is cooked, you can pop it in the microwave and heat it through in about 2 minutes. The couscous gets better over time, so this is actually even better a few days in.
greek salmon grain bowl ingredients
salmon: Unless you happen to be grilling, use Atlantic salmon. Any pink, soft, supple salmon is the one you want most of the time, because it will have the best, most tender texture when cooked. Coho and Sockeye are firm and tend to dry out when cooked incorrectly. These darker pink-to-red types are best suited for the grill, where the high heat can cook them quickly without flaking apart.
greek seasoning: I have a few favorites, and a good greek seasoning isn’t hard to find in your local market. I love a local spice house called Adun, which has a fabulously lemony Greek blend. When I ran out, I got a replacement from the Spice House called Greektown that I also really love, which has many of the same spices. If you can’t get your hands on a blend, use a homemade blend of thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Start with equal parts of all of them (I’d recommend 1/2 teaspoon), then increase your favorites by a few shakes.
couscous: I used Israeli couscous for this recipe, which has sturdy, pasta-like texture. If you can’t find this type of couscous, smaller Moroccan couscous works well, or you can use orzo instead. You can also omit the couscous and marinate the onions in lemon and oil, but I promise, you’ll want a grain here.
lemon: You can go crazy and squeeze lemon on everything (sometimes I do) but I kept it in just the couscous here and think it’s the perfect amount of acid. You’ll just need one good lemon.
olive oil: You’ll need some for cooking the salmon, some for cooking the kale, and some more for dressing the couscous. All in all, it’s a little over a half cup. Use a good olive oil, it will make a difference.
yellow onion: I pick up big bags of little onions and use them throughout the week. They’re about half the size of regular yellow onions and slice perfectly into bite-size pieces for dishes like these. You can use a small yellow onion, a white onion, or even a shallot here.
garlic: Surprisingly only used in the kale, but makes a big difference overall. Use 2 or 3 cloves.
kale: For salads, I love that dark purple-y lacinato kale, but for sautéing I really love regular leafy green kale. Dry it well after washing so that it doesn’t splatter, then just cook it down in a big skillet. You can use the same skillet you used with the salmon to save the cleanup, just add more oil so the kale has moisture to work with. Don’t overcook it, especially if you are planning to meal prep. Once it’s bright green, it’s ready.
red pepper flakes: I actually use whatever crushed chiles I have on hand, not necessarily the standard red pepper flakes. I don’t have anything against them, really, I just prefer crushed maras chiles, korean chile flakes, or aleppo pepper. Use your favorite red pepper flake here.
greek salmon grain bowl pairing options
The best thing about meals like these is that you hardly need side dishes at all. Right in the bowl, you have a protein, a carb, and a veggie. Here are a few things you can add to the bowl if you have them on hand, and a few things to serve with it if sides are your jam.
Avocado
Sauteed bell peppers
Artichokes
Cream sauce; Shallots, garlic, butter, cream, lemon
Dolmatas - stuffed grape leaves
Roasted eggplant
Potatoes (You can use the same greek seasoning)
White wines, like sauvignon blanc
