Inspired from bold flavors of chicken shawarma, this salmon shawarma salad uses the same marinade for intense flavors. Served on top of a crisp crunchy salad and finished with a creamy dill sauce. This will most certainly be your favorite weeknight salmon recipe to make!
Salmon Shawarma
If you've had my everyday chicken shawarma recipe from my First cookbook order it here, you know how insanely delicious the shawarma marinade is. I always say I could rub that marinade on anything and it would be fantastic, and it is! P.S. Here is my Second cookbook available on amazon.
This time, I tweaked the measurements a bit and used the base of the same shawarma marinade for seared salmon. The base has rich olive oil, bright lemon zest and juice and warm spices including paprika, turmeric and cumin. And let me tell you, this is a game changer and will probably be your go to weeknight salmon recipe from now on.
For another protein rich salad try my Chicken Schnitzel Salad.
In fact, do me a favor and make a batch of the marinade spice for everything. Then when you're ready to quick, drizzle olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice.
And if you love shawarma as much as we do, try slow cooked lamb shawarma too!
Ingredients
Salmon Shawarma Marinade
- Olive Oil
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Sumac
- turmeric
- Kosher salt
- Cinnamon
- Aleppo pepper
- Garlic clove grated or chopped finely
- Lemon
Yogurt Dressing
- Plain Yogurt
- Dried mint
- Dried Dill
- Lemon Juice
Salad Mix
- Mixed Greens
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Persian Cucumber
- Fresh Mint
- Olive, Feta Cheese, Fresh Dill
- Zaatar
- Balsamic
Instructions
- Place salmon in a shallow bowl and use paper towels to pat the fish dry very well. In another small bowl, whisk 2 teaspoons of olive oil, spices, grated garlic and lemon zest and juice and pour mixture over salmon, rubbing the marinade all over the salmon and set aside.
- Make the yogurt dill sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a bowl, set aside.
- Arrange salad into two large bowls and in a mason jar or bowl, whisk together the za'atar vinaigrette ingredients.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sear salmon on the first side until charred, about 2-3 minutes then flip over and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Dress salad with vinaigrette along with salmon shawarma and a good spoonful of yogurt dill sauce.
Fish Shawarma Cooking Tips
- The marinade is quick to whip up and I let the fish marinade for as long as I'm prepping the rest of dinner.
- Don't have sumac? That's ok, just omit as lemon offers a good brightness.
- Fish cooks up quick, High heat, sear on first side for about 2 minutes (depending how thick your fish is), then flip over and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Make the creamy yogurt sauce! (A very similar sauce goes on these Mediterranean salmon burgers made with Keta Salmon and it's so good!) The fresh cooling flavors work so well with the deep flavors of the fish marinade.
More Great Salads to Try
Grilled Shrimp Salad with Citrus and Fennel
Rice Noodle Salad with Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Chicken
Greek Fattoush Salad with Grilled Salmon and Red Wine Vinaigrette
Salmon Shawarma Salad
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Equipment
Ingredients
Salmon Shawarma
- 2 4-6 ounces wild caught salmon filets skin and bones removed
- 3 teaspoons olive oil divided
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon sumac
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of Aleppo pepper
- 1 large garlic clove grated or chopped finely
- ½ lemon zested and juiced
Yogurt Dill Sauce
- ½ cup full-fat yogurt
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- ⅓ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ lemon juiced
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Salad
- 4 cups mixed greens chopped romaine, spring mix and/or arugula
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 3-4 radishes thinly sliced
- 1 Persian cucumber chopped
- Fresh mint leaves
- Charred lemon
- Additional toppings: chopped olive crumbled feta cheese, fresh dill
Zaatar Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic
- ½ teaspoon za'atar
- ¼ teaspoon sumac
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Place salmon in a shallow bowl and use paper towels to pat the fish dry very well. In another small bowl, whisk 2 teaspoons of olive oil, spices, grated garlic and lemon zest and juice and pour mixture over salmon, rubbing the marinade all over the salmon and set aside.
- Make the yogurt dill sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a bowl, set aside.
- Arrange salad into two large bowls and in a mason jar or bowl, whisk together the za'atar vinaigrette ingredients.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sear salmon on the first side until charred, about 2-3 minutes then flip over and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Dress salad with vinaigrette along with salmon shawarma and a good spoonful of yogurt dill sauce.
Nicky says
Delicious. Part of our regular rotation 👌
Samantha Ferraro says
Hi Nicky, that is so good to hear. As soon as it's Grilling weather here in the PNW we go with the Grilled version of Salmon Shawarma. Have a great week Samantha.