Stuffed with a mixture of sautéed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese, these Tuscan Salmon Pinwheels are as impressive as they are delicious. If you didn’t know any better, you’d never guess they were Whole30 and Paleo friendly. Serve them with a side salad or your favourite sautéed vegetables.
What You Need for Tuscan Salmon Pinwheels
- Salmon: The easiest way to make this is to use a whole, skinless salmon filet. I used a wild-caught sockeye salmon but I’d be lying if I said that farm-raised didn’t deliver a much juicier finished product.
- Dairy-Free Cream Cheese: This is really the only specialty ingredient for this recipe. Kite Hill makes an incredible dairy-free, almond milk cream cheese that tastes identical to regular cream cheese. In fact, I actually like it more than the regular stuff. Pro tip: buy the chive flavoured one for even more oomph. It’s also Whole30 approved.
- Baby Spinach: You’ll need more spinach than you think for this recipe. It will wilt down significantly. For a 2-pound salmon filet I used around 1/2 pound of spinach.
- Onion and Garlic: You want some of the sweetness from the onion and sharpness from the garlic so try to cook them until just soft, translucent and aromatic. Try not to brown the onions or burn the garlic or the flavours will start to overpower the other ingredients.
- Chili Flakes: For a little bit of spice, try adding some chili flakes to the spinach. If you are using a spicy Cajun or Seafood seasoning, than adjust the chili flakes amount as desired.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Look for ones packed in olive oil to keep things Paleo and Whole30 friendly. I personally love the flavour and texture of sun-dried tomatoes so I tend to add quite a bit to the cream cheese mixture.
- Cajun or Seafood Seasoning: You can use any seasoning you like here. I personally think that a Cajun rub goes really well with salmon and the other flavours in the cream cheese mixture. Look for one made from all-natural ingredients without any additives or sugars to keep things Paleo and Whole30. A seafood spice would also be really good. Lemon Pepper, Old Bay, New Bae from Primal Palate are also great options.
You can also make a homemade seafood seasoning with a blend of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, thyme, celery seed, salt and cayenne pepper.
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Preheat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, around 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 60 seconds. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, around 4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cooled.
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Once the spinach has cooled, add the cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes and mix until combined.
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Rinse the salmon and pat very dry with paper towel. Season both sides with Cajun or Seafood seasoning. Place the fish flesh-side down and generously slather the top with the cream cheese mixture. Starting at the tail end, roll the salmon snugly, tucking in any loose filling. Secure the salmon with toothpicks or bamboo skewers 2-inches apart and slice into pinwheels between the skewers. Season both sides with a little more Cajun or Seafood seasoning.
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Wipe the pan clean and return it to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil and heat until shimmering. Carefully place the salmon pinwheels in the hot oil and cook until golden brown, around 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked to your desired doneness, around 3 more minutes for a medium center. Serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing.
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