Mangia Monday :: Pomegranate Glazed Salmon with Avocado Salsa

One of my favorite places on the planet is The Fresh Market. In case you're not familiar, they are a gourmet grocer with amazing food, produce, and European pastries, almost like an indoor Farmer's Market. Oh, and it always smells like freshly brewed coffee! In other words, it's a foodie's paradise. We were fortunate to have a TFM in my hometown, and I was fortunate that my parents loved shopping there, allowing me to tag along :) If my Mom was planning a special dinner, throwing a party, or prepping for the holidays, The Fresh Market was always our first stop. So when Jeff & I got married and moved to Charlotte, I was tickled pink to find that a TFM was located in the Queen City. It's not that close to us, but totally worth the drive!

One of the endless benefits of shopping at The Fresh Market is their incredible collection of recipes they share with their customers. And today's recipe, a favorite of mine & Jeff's, is a Fresh Market original, given to me by their Seafood Monger years ago when I was looking for a new way to kick up grilled salmon. It's surprisingly simple, but packed with amazing summer flavor, and versatile enough to use in a variety of different recipes!

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1/4 honey

2 center-cut, wild alaskan salmon fillets 

EVOO

freshly ground pepper & kosher salt

1 avocado, peeled & diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 jalapeno, diced & seeds removed

3/4 cup freshly chopped pineapple

1/2 cup freshly diced mango

1/2 cup red onion, finely diced

1. In a saucepan, combine the pom juice & honey with a whisk and bring to a boil. Then immediately reduce heat and allow to simmer until it's a syrupy consistency and reduced to a 1/4 cup. 

2. Make the salsa by combining the avocado and remaining 5 ingredients. Sprinkle with some kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, then allow to sit refrigerated for 15 minutes before serving.

3. Heat up your grill (can also use a grill pan or skillet) then season the fish with a drizzle of evoo and kosher salt & freshly ground pepper.

4. Grill flesh side down for 2-3 minutes and flip, doing the same on the other side, until the salmon is cooked through to the center - medium rare. 

5. Drizzle the fillets with pomegranate glaze then top with avocado salsa & enjoy!

We're huge fans of fish, but I get that it's not everyone's cup of tea. However, I've made this a ton of times and even non-fish people love it :) What I love most about this recipe though, is it's versatility. For example, you can serve the salsa with chips, shred the salmon & serve it with the salsa in fish tacos, or even make salmon burgers with black beans & serve the salsa as a topping. That's actually one of my favorite ways to make this dish. Oh, and the leftovers are pretty amazing too! 

Happy Monday and Mangia Mangia y'all!!