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Is there anything more fun than a rice bowl? Think about it, they are filling, healthy, and you can add WHATEVER you want! A kitchen sink meal, in the best way possible. This salmon bowl with bright yellow turmeric rice is a hearty but healthy Middle Eastern spin on your standard rice bowl. Filled with chickpeas, veggies, hummus, and a delicious tahini sauce, it will put your other rice bowls to shame!
Turmeric Rice
I will let you in on a little secret. Turmeric rice is not anything super special or difficult. I make it the same way I make regular rice, but with turmeric (surprise). But even just this small addition adds this incredible bright golden color and a new unexpected flavor.
Start with a medium sized pot, and melt 1tbsp of unsalted butter and add in one minced garlic clove. Cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in 1 cup of brown jasmine rice, 2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat the rice. Toast rice 2-3 minutes or until it begins to brown slightly.
Next, add in 2 cups of chicken stock or water, and bring to a boil. Cover for 30-35 minutes, or until the rice is tender. At this point I leave the lid on and remove the pot from the heat, allowing it to continue to steam and get even more tender (super important for brown rice. Set it aside and finish your bowl prep.
This recipe can also be made with white or cauliflower rice as well. If using white jasmine rice, follow the same steps but change the rice/water ratio and time according to package directions. For cauliflower rice, add butter, cauliflower, seasonings, and 3-4 tbsp of stock and saute until tender. Set aside.
Tahini Dressing
In my humble opinion, no bowl is complete without some sort of sauce to bring it all together. A nice creamy sauce helps all of the individual elements bind when you scoop it all on your fork. For this recipe, I made a simple tahini dressing. Tahini is ground sesame paste, basically like almond butter but made of sesame seeds instead. It is nutty and warm, but not overwhelming.
Start with 1/3 cup of tahini in a small bowl, and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, about 2-3 tbsp. Mix in one minced clove of garlic and 1 tbsp of honey. At this point, the sauce will be thick, so whisk in 2-3 tbsp, or more, of water to thin it out into a nice pourable sauce. And that’s it! Set the sauce aside or refrigerate while you finish the components of the bowl!
Salmon Bowl
Now that the base and topping of the bowl are complete, it is time to assemble the middle, the good stuff! First, while the rice is cooking, we will start with the salmon and sweet potatoes. Take two salmon fillets (skin on optional) and pat them dry. Also take 2 small sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/2 in cubes, drizzling with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Season both the salmon and potatoes with:
- 2 tsp of zaatar
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/3 tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Toss the potatoes to coat and cook them in an even layer at 400 degrees in the air fryer for 15-20 min, or in the oven for 20-25, tossing halfway through. They should be crisp on the outside but fluffy and tender on the inside.
While those are in the oven, either on a grill or in a saute pan, sear/grill your salmon for 3-4 minutes per side or until it reaches 145 degrees. For this step, I used my handy indoor smokeless grill! A saute pan works great but I love the slight char of the grill! While the salmon grills, also slice up one small white onion into 1/3-1/2 in rings and grill the rings as well, until tender.
And finally, the last cooked component: garlic spinach. Super simple! In a saute pan with a drizzle of olive oil, cook 1 minced clove of garlic until fragrant. Add in 2 loosely packed cups of spinach and stir until wilted. Season with a little salt and pepper and that’s it! Time to assemble.
In two bowls, scoop in 1-1 1/2 cups of rice. Top with 1 fillet of salmon each, 1/2 the potatoes, and 1/2 the onions and spinach. Also add on about 1/4 cup of diced seedless cucumber to each bowl, as well as 2-3 tbsp of drained chickpeas. Drizzle with the tahini sauce and finish with finely chopped parsley. And enjoy!
Need Other Healthy Entrees?
- Spaghetti Squash Chicken Alfredo With Broccoli And Shrimp
- Greek Style Haddock
- Salsa Fresca Chicken
- Avocado California Chicken
- Asian Salmon Salad
- Harvest Salad
Salmon Bowl with Turmeric Rice
Ingredients
Turmeric Rice
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup brown jasmine rice can use white or cauliflower rice, just cook according to package directions
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 cup low sodium chicken stock or water
Salmon Bowl
- 2 small sweet potatoes cut into ½in cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 fillets of salmon about ⅓-½lb each
- 2 tsp zaatar
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ⅓ tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small white onion cut into thick slices/rings
- 2 cups spinach loosely packed
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 6 oz chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup seedless/persian cucumber diced into ¼in cubes
- ¼ cup hummus
Tahini Dressing
- ⅓ cup tahini
- juice of ½ lemon about 1-2 tbsp
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt
- 2-3 tbsp water to thin
Instructions
Turmeric Rice
- In a medium sized pot, melt butter and add in minced garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in rice, turmeric, onion powder, salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Toast rice 2-3 minutes or until it begins to brown slightly.
- Add in chicken stock or water, bring to a boil, and cover for 30-35 minutes, or until the rice is tender. If using white rice, follow the same steps but change the rice/water ratio and time according to package directions. For cauliflower rice, add butter, cauliflower, seasonings, and 3-4 tbsp of stock and saute until tender. Set aside to steam.
Tahini Dressing
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, seasoning to taste. Set aside
Salmon Bowl
- While rice is cooking, clean and cube sweet potatoes, and pat salmon dry. Coat potatoes in olive oil and season both the salmon and potatoes with zaatar, onion powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Toss potatoes to coat and place in a 400° airfryer for 15-20 min or in the oven for 20-25, until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside.
- Cook salmon on a 400° grill, about 3-4 minutes per side. Also throw the onion slices on the grill at this time. This can also be done in a saute pan over medium high heat.
- In a separate pan, drizzle in a little olive oil, add in 1 clove minced garlic, and cook spinach until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- BOWL ASSEMBLY- Scoop 1-1½ cups of cooked rice into each bowl. Top with 1 salmon fillet, ½ the sweet potatoes, ½ the grilled onions, spinach, about 3oz of chickpeas, ¼ cup of diced cucumber, and 2 tbsp of hummus. Drizzle with tahini dressing and sprinkle with chopped parsley for garnish. Repeat. Serve immediately.
