Saratoga Springs, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/25/2021 --Adding fish to a diet brings healthy benefits, and Intermountain Healthcare chefs suggest pairing it with a chilled spinach strawberry salsa makes for a bright and healthy summer meal.

"In the summer months, I love grilling and smoking all kinds of meats," said Josh Broadbent, executive sous chef for Intermountain Healthcare. "While not a traditional salsa, the spinach strawberry salsa is a great, well-rounded addition to the dish, with a ton of flavor from jalapenos and cucumbers in the mix. I love how bright the salsa tastes, and it really makes the baked salmon pop."

Baked salmon is a simple dish rich in omega-3 fatty acids and is great for heart and brain health. Eating whole fish has been shown to be more protective than taking a fish-oil supplement, likely due to the presence of protective nutrients such as selenium and antioxidants that are found in fish but not fish oil supplements. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish, particularly fatty fish like salmon, at least twice weekly.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Baked Salmon:
2½ tsp. olive oil
5 each Atlantic salmon, 4 oz., skinless, thawed
2½ tsp. lemon zest
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper, ground
5 each lemon slices, sliced thin

Spinach Strawberry Salsa:
1¼ cups fresh strawberries, diced
1½ cups spinach, chiffonade
½ each cucumber, peeled, diced
1 each kiwi, peeled, diced
¼ cups jalapeno, deseeded, minced
2 tsp. mint, chiffonade
1½ tsp lemon Juice
1½ tsp honey
¼ tsp salt kosher

Preparations:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Coat the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil, place salmon skin-side down.
Sprinkle with lemon zest, salt and pepper.
Cover the baking dish with parchment paper and foil; bake for 17 minutes or until an internal temperature of 145 F is reached.

Spinach Strawberry Salsa:
Prepare all fresh ingredients and place into a large bowl.
Combine the lemon juice, honey and salt in a small bowl.
Add the juice mixture to the fresh ingredient and carefully combine to prevent the ingredients from breaking down.

Serve:
Place the salmon in the center of the plate, dividing equally. Pairs nicely with a rice pilaf or roasted red potatoes.

Serves: 5
215 calories / 255 mg sodium / 40% calories/fat

For more suggestions, go to Intermountain Healthcare's Eat Well page.

About Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system of 25 hospitals, 225 clinics, a Medical Group with 2,600 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs. For updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.