I’m hoping this post inspires a hearty Fall salad, topped with a lovely pan- seared fish on your daily special menu. Often we think of salads as suitable for spring and summer menus, but cooler months should also spark some innovation on the salad menu.

One of my favourite salad ingredients in the Fall is jumbo dried cranberries aka "Craisins".  They are made by dehydrating cranberries, similar to the technique used to turn grapes to raisins. The result is a sweet and slightly sour cranberry flavour with a chewy texture which works perfectly in a fall salad.

Here I’ve combined some baby arugula and spinach with dried cranberries, quinoa, roasted acorn squash & chopped pecans. If you can get your hands on some baby chard and kale, utilize this instead of the arugula and baby spinach. Place the pre-roasted acorn squash in the oven prior to tossing with the salad. Bringing this ingredient slightly above room temperature before tossing with the salad, increases the comfort factor. It’s a little detail that won’t go unnoticed.

I’ve simply pan-seared a portion of Atlantic Salmon to bronze the presentation side, and then finished it off in the oven. Depending on the volume of the operation, the Salmon can be seared ahead of time to increase speed of service. The entire salad was tossed with a light cranberry dressing. This would make a great lunch offering on the daily special menu board. For dinner it can be made more filling with the addition of some herb roasted fingerling/mini potatoes.

Until next time….Stay seasonal my friends!!