Roasted Salmon with Quinoa + Celery Salad

Sundays include going to church for religious people. Sundays for me mean going to the Farmer's Market, visiting the Green Grocer, and cooking. As long as both bring us personal satisfaction, pleasure, peace and faith, then I am for it - for you to go to your church and for me to go to mine.

Just as a side tangent briefly... if you've never visited the Green Grocer at the Fort Mason Farmer's Market on a Sunday morning before, you're deeply missing out on a life pleasure. The GG is a ferociously hilarious, pretty rude and amazing man who runs a food booth with his two equally as sassy children. They serve food at the weekly market to the hungry visitors and tourists who all alike are there for the experience of the GG. He's mean, he's crazy and all over the place, and he's one of a kind. I have actually cackled out loud at the reviews on him on Yelp because these people clearly don't get him or what he's there for. He's there to put out bomb ass food and serve some tude to the audience, and I. Eat. That. Shit. Up. If you're in San Francisco on a Sunday and I'm around, do me a favor and let's go visit our favorite sassafras. It will be worth it. I promise.

To get back to the recipe of today, I wanted to revisit Outstanding in the Field. I will let you take the time to look into it, because you deserve it and you owe it to yourself. This recipe was inspired by the chefs at Nightbird, and a dish they made for a dinner I went to with my mom and my friend Chris back in November. I found something that would help guide me on BonAppétit.com but of course made my own adjustments to taste. The original recipe uses bulgur which is wheat based, so I swapped that out for quinoa instead and instead of turnips, I used parsnips. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 2lb piece skin-on salmon fillet
Kosher salt, for taste
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 large parsnips, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided; plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more for drizzling
4 celery heart stalks, plus leaves for serving
1/4 preserved lemon, flesh removed, rind finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley leaves with tender stems
1 pack of edible flowers (you can find these in most grocery stores)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a shallow baking dish in oven to heat. Season salmon generously with salt; set aside.

2. Cook quinoa according to directions - set aside.

3. Halve parsnips, and cut into cubes. Toss in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt. Arrange, cut side down in preheated roasting dish. Cook until deep brown underneath, 15-20 minutes.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Toss parsnips and push them to one side of dish. Place salmon on the other side; roast until flesh is opaque and nearly cooked through, 12-15 minutes.

5. Whisk yogurt, vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons oil in a medium bowl to combine. Add celery, preserved lemon, and toss to coat; season with salt. Fold in quinoa.

6. Arrange parsnips on serving platter and drizzle with lemon juice. Scatter quinoa salad over platter. Break salmon into large pieces and arrange over quinoa salad. Top with celery leaves and parsley leaves and edible flowers; drizzle with more oil if desired.