Introduction: WILD SALMON KABOBS WITH SWEET PEPPERS, PINEAPPLE, AND ZUCCHINI

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About: I am a 82-year-old self-proclaimed Chef who has spent most of his life in the hotel/resort tourism industry. I have traveled up and down the east coast of the United States from New York to Key West, and from …

Made with wild salmon marinated in a blend of oils,spices, and lime juice, then skewered with colorful mini sweet peppers, chunks of fresh pineapple, slices of Kiwi Fruit and Zucchini Squash, these kabobs not only make a great appetizer, you can serve them for dinner with a salad of side dish!

Step 1: INGREDIENTS: (4 Appetizers or 2 Dinner Servings)

  • If you plan to use bamboo or other wooden skewers, it is best to soak them in water over night to keep them from burning in the oven or on the grill. For this recipe, I used:
  1. 4 Bamboo Skewers
  2. 1 pound raw salmon, skin removed
  3. 16 cubes fresh pineapple (about 6/10 pound)
  4. 6 Pero Mini Sweet Peppers, stems and *seeds removed.
  5. 1 medium Zucchini Squash.
  6. 3 whole Kiwi fruits, skin removed.

For the Marinade:

  1. 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1 teaspoon pure sesame oil
  3. 1 TBS lime juice (fresh if possible)
  4. 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
  5. 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon (grind seeds from green pods if you can locate them)
  6. 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Salt Sense (or Kosher salt)
  7. 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (fresh if possible)
  8. 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  9. 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) (start with 1/4 teaspoon; taste, add more if wanted)
  10. 1 teaspoon to 1 TBS raw honey (start with 1 teaspoon, taste, add more if you want a sweeter marinade. I ended up using 1 TBS)

*NOTE: You do not have to become concerned if you do not remove every single pepper seed here; these peppers are definitely sweet and seeds are not hot!

Step 2: PREPARATION:

Prepare the marinade (see previous step for ingredients)

  1. Cut the salmon into about 1" cubes and place in a single layer on a non porous dish.
  2. Pour marinade over the salmon cubes; cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (I like to turn them over after about 30 minutes to get the pieces evenly coated with the marinade).

While the salmon is marinating in the refrigerator, you can prep the vegetables (do this the day before if you like): You can mix or match the fruits and vegetables anyway you like. For 4 skewers, I used:

  1. 16 cubes of pineapple
  2. 1 long medium Zucchini cut into slices.
  3. 3 whole *firm Kiwi fruits, peeled, and cut into quarters.
  4. 6 Pero mini sweet peppers cut into slices (3 or 4 slices per pepper)

As pictured, you can prep the fruits and vegetables; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

  • *NOTE: The Kiwi fruit that I purchased was not as firm as I thought it would be, and did have a tendency to fall apart while being skewered.

Step 3: INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven broiler (or outdoor grill) until hot.

  • While broiler was heating I had to make a broiler pan since my oven did not come with one (easy enough; I simply covered a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, added an oven-safe rack, and sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray - it worked fine).
  • Put the Kabobs together adding fruits, vegetables, and chunks of salmon (about 4 or 5 per skewer) in any order that pleases you
  • Reserve any marinade that has accumulated after the salmon as been removed (keep it warm and use it as a topping when serving).
  • Broil or grill the salmon kabobs for about 10 minutes, or until the chunks of salmon become slightly charred (turning once halfway through the cooking process).

Unfortunately, I was so busy I forgot to take a photo of the skewers being put together, however, they looked pretty much like the finished product pictured above!

Step 4: TIME TO EAT . . .

I enjoyed 2 salmon kabobs, along with a side dish of brown rice cooked with peas, onions and mini sweet peppers for my dinner. Since I kept the mixing bowl of reserved marinade warm on the back of the stove, I was able to drizzle it over the kabobs and rice.

Bon appétit

Step 5: NUTRITION:

I have evaluated the nutrition of this recipe to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer. I estimate that each wild salmon kabob contains about 430 calories and 24 grams of protein.. Estimates do not include any side dishes or beverages.