Smoked Sea Salt Salmon with Spinach Chickpea Salad

Sheri Silver April 15, 2020

Birchwood Smoked Sea Salt Elevates This Easy Recipe

This gorgeous, delicious dinner couldn’t be easier!

Salmon fillets are seasoned with smoked sea salt, providing incredible flavor without overwhelming the fish. The fillets are baked on a sheet pan at high heat, alongside grape tomatoes, sliced shallots and crushed garlic cloves. The high heat caramelizes the vegetables, lightly sears the fish and leaves you with one pan to clean up!

We’re serving this with a lovely side of baby spinach, chickpeas, chopped bacon and an easy champagne vinaigrette. Toss with the oven-roasted tomatoes and shallots for the best salad you’ve ever had.

This dinner is perfect for special guests but easy enough for the busiest weeknight! 

Smoked Sea Salt Salmon with Spinach Chickpea Salad

1/4 pound thick-cut bacon

1 1/2 - 2 pounds salmon fillet, cut into 3 – 4 pieces

Greek smoked sea salt

16 ounces grape tomatoes, halved

1 shallot, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Flake sea salt and black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

5 ounces baby spinach

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; line a sheet pan with foil and place the bacon slices on the foil. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Remove pan from oven, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and discard the foil. Let pan cool slightly. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

When pan is cool enough to handle (it’s okay if it’s still warm) line with parchment paper. Sprinkle the salmon with the smoked sea salt and place in the center of the baking sheet. Scatter the tomatoes, shallot and garlic cloves evenly all around and season the vegetables with kosher salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have started to shrivel and the salmon is cooked to your preferred level of doneness. Remove from oven and set aside (you can discard the garlic cloves).

Slice the bacon into thick slices.

In a small bowl whisk the mustard and vinegar until smooth. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil in a thin stream, while whisking continuously. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, place the salmon on individual plates. Place a large handful of spinach alongside the salmon, topped with some chickpeas, warm tomatoes, and sliced bacon. Drizzle with the vinaigrette.