In the past I’ve written about the health benefits of walnuts and pomegranate seeds. This weekend, I combined both of these with a wild salmon filet.

This recipe is easy to make. The salmon filet marinates and cooks in the pomegranate seeds and walnuts. The result is a flaky, tender and nutty tasting salmon with a hint of pomegranate. It’s delicious and nutritious – packed with high-quality protein, vitamins, minerals and all those wonderful omega-3 fatty acids that are important for your heart and brain. It’s my oldest daughter’s favourite way to eat salmon.

Ingredients

• 1 wild salmon filet
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate fruit (to easily de-seed a pomegranate, see video below)
• Walnuts, chopped
• Olive oil
• A dash of Himalayan salt and ground pepper
• Fresh dill weed

Measurements (increase ingredients in proportion to the size of the salmon)

• For a small filet (165 grams) for 2 people, I use:
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Procedure

Rinse salmon fillet in cool water and pat dry with paper towel.

In a small bowl, mix the pomegranate seeds with an equal amount of walnuts. Add some olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread a small portion of the mixture on an aluminium sheet (I put about 2 tablespoons for a small filet). Place the filet on top of that portion and then pat the remaining mixture on top of the filet, pressing hard to make it stay (it’s OK if some fall off). Tightly wrap the filet with the aluminium sheet and put it in the fridge to marinate for 4 hours or overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 200 °C / 400 °F.

Place the filet directly on an ovenproof grilling pan (see below) making sure that most of the pomegranate seeds and nuts are pressed on the top of the salmon. It’s fine if a little mixture falls in the pan – just push it close to the filet. With the same foil, make a loose tent on top of the filet and bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes or until the flesh flakes easily with a fork. Serve with fresh dill weed.

Here’s a short video on how to de-seed a pomegranate the easy way: