I have been talking about ‘good fats’ in my previous posts and how imperative they are for our health.
However, there are different kinds of ‘good fats’ which have distinct functions in the body. One of them, Polyunsaturated fats are essential fats but are not made by the body so we have to get them from food. They are necessary for body functions like building cell membranes, nerve sheaths, blood clotting, inflammation and muscle movement.
There are two types of polyunsaturated fats: omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. The Omega-3 fatty acids help prevent and even treat heart disease, help raise good cholesterol HDL and reduce blood pressure and lower triglycerides. Good sources of these omega-3 fatty acids includes salmon, mackerel, sardines, walnuts and flaxseeds. Omega-6 fatty acids are essential for normal growth and development but, large quantities of these fatty acids in the body can lead to too much inflammation in the body.
This recipe includes one such food that is rich in essential fatty acids called Salmon. There has been speculation about which kind of salmon is healthier and cleaner, the farmed kind or the wild variety. From past research it appears that wild salmon have lesser contaminants like PCBs, or antibiotics and are therefore considered cleaner to eat.
The farmed salmon have a higher amount of saturated fat as they are being fed processed feed to become bigger in size as opposed to wild salmon which feed on crustaceans found in the open sea and are therefore leaner and are still rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They also have higher levels of minerals like potassium, zinc and iron. I prefer to buy wild salmon for these reasons.
The salmon I have used in this recipe is a Wild Atlantic Salmon.
Ingredients:
3 Salmon fillets
1 tsp cumin seed powder
1 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tsp whole grain mustard
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 garlic cloves minced
Method:
1.Wash salmon in cold water and pat dry
2. Mix the cumin seed powder, red chilli flakes, whole grain mustard, olive oil, sea salt and garlic
Cumin, mustard, garlic, red chilli flakes, sea salt, olive oil, garlic marinade
3.Brush on this mixture on the salmon
4.Marinade for a couple of hours
5.Grill for 10 minutes
Salmon with marinade
Grilled salmon
A great accompaniment for this Salmon recipe is brown rice and bak choy with green beans!