Pesto, Arugula & Salmon Pasta Salad

Finding lunch motivation can be kind of tough these days. Our fridge seems to be stocked, but at the same time contains nothing cohesive for an inspiring meal…so I’ve been needing to get a little creative (and weird). This salad was born from just that.

I love a good salad but it needs to be loaded up with goodies in order for it to be super nourishing for me. I’ll add all kinds of odds and ends to make my salads feel filling and also exciting–because let’s be honest, whats worse than a boring salad?

So this recipe is kind of a hybrid between a pasta dish and a giant salad…which is kind of amazing.

I started with the base–which was arugula and just built from there. I knew I wanted something savory, tangy, and with a little softness to complement the bite of the arugula so I opted for salmon as my protein. Salmon is such a lovely, neutral protein you can really dress it up anyway you like. Add your favorite sauce, oil, and/or vinegar and you’re pretty much set! I love this recipe because you can make SO many easy swaps here. Instead of arugula you could do little gem or butter lettuce, even spinach!

Ingredients
handful arugula
1/3 cup salmon (today I used organic canned salmon because that is all we had!)
2 tbsp pesto
1 tsp lemon olive oil
lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
thinly sliced onion to garnish
salt + pep to taste

Combine all your ingredients in a giant bowl and mix together. Your taste buds might ask for more, or less of one thing so feel free to play around here! There really isn’t a wrong answer, just play and have fun with flavors!

Enjoy!