Cuban Grilled Salmon with Tomato Avocado Salsa.
Feelin’ like today is a tropical food kind of day.
Every single year around Easter, I always think of Cuban style food. I know I’ve mentioned this many times now, but my family used to spend many Easters in south Florida with my grandparents. A lot of times we would head to Miami for day trips and if you know anything about Miami, than you know it’s full of Cuban food and culture.
I was only a kid when we used to go, so unfortunately, my meal of choice was usually something that consisted of hamburger, fries, and a chocolate shakes, many times from Johnny Rockets along the beach (ahh, can I please go back? This time I’ll go for grown-up Cuban food!). Some of my favorites memories are those spent with my family, soaking up the Florida sun and eating way too many mangos and pineapples. We always had the best time, and I feel super lucky to have those memories. My grandpa would take us on boat trips down to Key West or the Bahamas. We’d swim in the ocean, go snorkeling, and do all kinds of fun and adventurous stuff. One year we even ventured off to an abandoned island that Disney used to park their cruise ships at. It was like a scene out of Jurassic Park, I kept waiting for dinosaurs to roar. The island looked as if it was suddenly abandoned. Jet skis available for rental just left behind, tiki huts looking ready for customers to walk up to, signs indicating to passengers of all the various places on the island where fun was to be had. I’m thinking we probably visited there in about 2002. My grandpa said that Disney abandoned the resort because the waters surrounding the island were too shallow. It was honestly one of the coolest things ever. If you’re interested in reading more on it, I found this blog post on it. When we visited it must have been not too long after it was abandoned because things still looked new. And now you see why these trips are some of my best memories, right?
PS. has anyone played on the giant chess boards on Miami Beach? My brothers and I totally did, and obviously we thought they were so cool.
Anyway, I always have a topical mindset when this time of year rolls around, and my food totally reflects that. I’m sure you guys have probably noticed, what with all the mango and pineapple sneaking their way into so many recipes these days. Can’t help it, they’re my favorite.
SO, this salmon! It’s so jam-packed with fresh flavors and citrus. Light, but still hearty, and oh so pretty with that tomato avocado salsa on top. I wasn’t sure about posting this today, but then I remembered that Friday is Good Friday and it just seemed to make total sense.
Cuban style food is typically loaded with citrus, so that’s what I did here with this salmon. The salmon is soaked in a quick marinade of orange, lime juice, a little garlic, and some spices. It’s basically what they call Mojo sauce, but with a little extra heat and flavor added by me. It is SO good. And well this totally is not necessary, I love to finish the grilled salmon off with a small pat of butter. The butter melts down over the fish and creates a delicious sauce. <–I highly recommend it. 🙂
And then, because I am salsa obsessed (there is a whole salsa page in the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook), I had to add a little tomato avocado salsa. YUM. Not gonna lie, if you want to just grab a bag of chips and go to town on this salsa, I would not blame you, it’s kind of hard not to. My secret? Using super sweet cherry tomatoes instead of a big tomatoes. I always have bad luck with large tomatoes and much prefer using cherry tomatoes. They’re bite size, crazy sweet and perfect for salsa. Plus, anything with avocado and lime is always a good idea in my book!
So what do you think? Good Friday dinner? Maybe Easter brunch? Either way, this is a must make. It’s quick, healthy, and packed full of so many delicious flavors.
Oh, and while I didn’t add pineapple to this salsa, I think it would be pretty freaking good. Just sayin’.
Random Wednesday Question: what do you and your families do for Easter? I’m dying to know what traditions you guys have. Do you go on vacation? Visit relatives? Have a big brunch? What’s the deal?!
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Cuban Grilled Salmon with Tomato Avocado Salsa
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: avocado salad, fish main course, fish salad
A fresh salad with grilled salmon. Perfect for a summer meal
Ingredients
- 1 pound wild caught salmon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 green onions
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
Tomato Avocado Salsa
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 ripe avocados, diced
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
-
1. Place the salmon in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a blender, combine the olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, green onions, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Pulse until combined. Pour the marinade over the salmon and let set for 15 minutes.
3. Heat your grill, grill pan or skillet to medium high heat.
4. Transfer the salmon to the preheated grill and grill for about 3 minutes on each side or until the salmon is cooked to your desired doneness, brush the salmon with the marinade as it cooks. Remove the salmon from the grill.
5. To serve, pat the salmon with butter and allow it to melt. Serve topped with the tomato avocado salsa. Enjoy!
Tomato Avocado Salsa
-
1. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, avocado, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeño, and a pinch of salt. Serve alongside the salmon.
Tomorrow will be talking one last Easter side, then on to Friday cocktails, I’m already so excited!
This looks fantastic, and I can’t wait to try it. Also, unless they’re home grown tomatoes in the height of summer, I always use cherry or plum tomatoes in my salsa as they always have a better flavour.
Have a great Easter!
I hope you love it, I so agree when you don’t have fresh ones they are the way to go! Have a great weekend Rachel!
This salmon looks so amazing. It sounds like the perfect weeknight dinner.
So happy you like it Andrea! Thanks (:
Fabulous salmon recipe! My Easter tradition = host Easter brunch and pass out homemade gift baskets.
Sounds like so much fun! Hope you have an amazing Easter!
I love salmon soooo much, and grilled is always a treat, it sets me in a summer vaycay mood instantly!!
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Exactly the mood I want to be in!! So happy you like it Ruth! Thank you!
Ah, Miami sounds amazing right now and it’s the perfect inspiration for this yummy Cuban style salmon! Oh and I can’t wait to see your salsa page and your whole book! Also, using cherry tomatoes is genius!
Right!? Need a little sunshine!
Well I hope you love it! Getting so close!
This tropical salmon sounds delicious! And that story about the abandoned Disney island? How cool! I would have loved to see that!
Ah thanks so much! Right? So cool!
Salmon is an at least once a week deal around here. Love the flavors you’ve got going on here!
Such a great meal! Thanks so much Lindsay!
Loving the tropical vibes in this! Ah Florida.. haven’t been for years, and I would love to go back! For Easter we usually go to my mom’s, and she makes a large lunch (what she cooks really depends, but it’s some sort of roast normally) and hot cross buns – my favorite. Just a bit of downtime with the family. Hope you have a great Easter!!
Same! Love Florida!
That sounds like an amazing tradition! Thanks Natasha!
My father is from the Miami suburbs, and once in a while we’d make trips to Miami Beach, but those times were rare. And my family is not the most adventurous when it comes to eating, so no Cuban food for them. Which is a bummer because these flavors are what I love now as an adult.
Now, hand me a margarita and a fork and let me go to town on this salmon!
Trips to the Miami beach sound amazing! At least you can have them now! So yummy!
Thanks Brian!
I’m not reeeeeally a fish person but your pictures make it look so good! If you’ll cook it for me just like that, I’ll definitely eat it.
Haha, well I wish I could! Thanks Benny!
Girl, this looks amazing!
Thanks Sara (:
That Disney story was so interesting—-sorry you didn’t have a camera to take pictures.
Thank you! I know I wish I did!
I’ve never thought of cuban food going with Easter so your story about visiting your grandparents made me laugh!! I always love this style of salmon dish. I’m excited to give it a try!! 🙂
Ooo! Yay! I hope you love it Maria! Thank you.
Tieghan, This looks SO FREAKING GOOD. I am always on the lookout for fresh influences to everyday dinners (i.e. salmon) so I can’t wait to try this. Thanks so much for the idea and the hilarious stories. That Disney island …. *shiver*
Yay, so happy it is inspiring!
Thanks for reading Rachel (:
I had a friend just give me a slab of fresh white king caught here in Homer Alaska. I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
Ooo! How nice of them! I hope you love this recipe Kathy!
I love the tropical vibe and that pretty salsa is the absolute perfect topper!
Loving tropical vibes at the moment! Wishing I was in one! Thanks Laura!
In Denmark we celebrate Jesus resurrecting from the dead on the first day of Easter(this Sunday) by having a Easter lunch with family and friends. First you eat smørrebrød with all kinds of seafood(shrimps, gravad lox, herring etc.), then we eat smørrebrød with meat(slices of roastbeef, pate, frikadeller(Danish meatballs) etc.) and as a dessert we have cheese and crackers.
Wow, that sounds like an amazing day! Such delicious food! Hope you have an amazing Easter!
I don’t normally like salmon, but you really sold it too me! My family made this last night and it was incredible…
Wow!! Yay, I’m so happy you liked it!! Thank you Megan!
Eemmm Yummy and delicious I Like This Salmon
So happy you like it, thank you (:
I hardly ever think to make Cuban-inspired food, but from the looks of this I certainly need to! I love how the salsa adds texture and balances everything out. Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
– MAK
So happy you like it Margaret! Thank you (:
My husband is the gourmet cook in the family. He made this recipe tonight and it is a keeper! The marinade for the fish is subtle but delicious and pairing that with the tomato avocado salsa that has a bit of a kick is a winner. Thank you for always sharing your amazing recipes with your fans. Congratulations on your cookbook!
Awh so fun that he cooks for you (:
SO happy you liked them thank you so much Janice!
I just made this for me and my partner. It was so quick and easy and was really delicious. Thankyou, I love using your recipes, they never disappoint 🙂
SO happy it was easy and yummy! Thanks Claire!
This looks great! Do you think it would work just as well to bake or broil?
Thanks!
Hey Meg! I thinking baking or broiler would both work just great. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this!
Fast & easy. Really nice balance of citrus, spices and heat… even in my opinion somewhat understated, letting the delicate salmon flavor take priority. The marinade is so flavorful that I reserved and heated it to serve alongside, with individual dipping cups. Will definitely make this a summer dish for guests.
Hi Peter, so happy you liked it! Thank you for making it!!
I made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC. I changed up a couple of things just for my own taste; I used aleppo pepper instead of cayenne and I used OJ in the salsa instead of lime juice, just because lime isn’t my fav flavor. I marinated this for 1/2 hr in a glass baking dish, put foil over the top, baked it in the marinade for 30 mins at 400 and it was a show-stopper, I didn’t even have to add the butter at the end it was so flavorful! Thanks for such a terrific recipe!!!
Sounds like some awesome substitutions Joan! May just have to try this out haha! Thanks so much!
Its so yummy, i’ll try to make it
thank you
Hope you enjoyed, thanks!
Delicious ?
Thank you!
Oh my, this was absolutely delicious! While eating dinner last night my husband goes “please don’t lose this recipe” so I’d definitely call that a success. He even ate the tomatoes (so proud). I have already shared this recipe to 4 friends that enjoy cooking. I served this along side some cuban style black beans. Yum!
Wow!! That is so awesome! Thank you for making this, I am so glad you and your husband loved it Laura!
This may seem .ike a stupid question, but do you grill the salmon with the skin on or remove the skin first?
I Like to remove the skin after grilling, it is really easy to after grilling and the skin helps hold in flavor. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Cuban Salmon was a huge success. I had little time to prepare and it was straightforward for a first time recipe in a hurry. The results were great I had six ??????very happy and impressed guests. Thank you for this great recipe.
Thank you so much Jill! xTieghan
Sounds yum and want to do tomorrow night with your crispy breakfast potato recipe .
Can i see some red onion in the picture? Was it pickled?
Lmk
HI! Yes, that is pickled red onion. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
what side dishes go best with this?
HI there! I would recommend a steam rice or roasted potatoes (recipe linked below). Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/roasted-mixed-potatoes-with-spring-herbs-and-burrata/
Hi! This looks awesome! What’s the sauce that almost looks like chimichurri in the photo? Is that something else you’d recommend with this?
Hi Abby,
Yes, a chimichurri is great to serve with this! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Excellent! Wouldn’t change a thing.
Thank you so much Connie! xTieghan
Loved this recipe! It was quick and easy and so delicious!
Thank you so much Kayann! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan