Alina's Sweet Peach BBQ Salmon Wraps

Today was an unseasonably warm day, which wet my appetite for summer food. I started thinking about how delicious a BBQ sandwich would be, and that's when this recipe started formulating in my head. These salmon wraps pull most of their sweetness from the tomato paste and peaches, and the brussels sprout cranberry coleslaw is what really seals the deal. My dad is an amazing gardener, and he gave me some collard greens last week that I needed to use up. My mom doesn't eat wheat products, so she sometimes uses collard greens to make wraps, and I decided to do the same.

This wrap is packed with healthy nutrients. Wild salmon is considered to be one of the healthiest kinds of fish, providing over three times your recommended omega-3s. Collard greens pack a punch with tons of fiber and healthy portions of vitamins C, A, and K. Brussels sprouts are exceptionally high in protein for a vegetable, and also have above average levels of fiber and vitamin C. Brussels sprouts are also said to protect against cancer. Peaches are high in fiber and vitamin C. To top things off, one of the natural sweeteners in this recipe, cranberries, is high in anti-oxidants and is considered to be "one of the top foods with proven health benefits." Have I convinced you yet that this dish is chock full of nutrients? That's because it is.

Why beat around the bush? This is by far one of the tastiest original dishes I've come up with. It hints of familiar summer memories while standing proud as its own, unique dish.


Makes 4 servings (about 8 wraps). 40 minutes prep time. 60 minutes total.

• 2 salmon fillets
• 1 can of peaches, packed in juice (it can be difficult to find peaches that aren't packed in syrup. I buy the Target store brand)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 small sweet yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• Ground ginger
• Ground cumin
• Chili powder
• Ground cloves
• Cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Brussels sprouts (about 12 of them), ends removed
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Large collard green leaves (one for every wrap)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

Prep the following ingredients (Peach BBQ sauce, brussels sprout cranberry coleslaw, and sweet salmon) and then wrap them in collard green leaves. Enjoy your fresh summer meal!

Place all three ingredients on a leaf:

Roll it up:

Peach BBQ Sauce

I pulled some of the inspiration for this BBQ sauce from the Vanilla Garlic blog.
Saute the onion over medium-high heat until it gets pearly, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic for about 60 seconds.
Add the vinegar, tomato paste, peaches (with the juice it's packed in), and lemon juice. Bring this to a boil, then reduce it to a light simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp cloves, 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper. Blend it. Taste it and tweak the seasoning to taste. I added the brown sugar here to bring out the taste of the peaches, but you may decide it doesn't need it.

Transfer it back to your stove top and warm it over medium low heat for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Brussels Sprout Cranberry Coleslaw

I made this recipe from Alton Brown a few years ago, and loved it, so I decided to make a variant of it for my coleslaw. Alton's version has nuts in it and is intended to be eaten as a salad, not a slaw.

Cut the ends off about 12 brussels sprouts before shredding them in a food processor. You could certainly just chop them, but the food processor makes it quick and easy.

Melt 1-2 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the shredded brussels sprouts. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir continually for about 6 minutes, until they become colorful and fragrant.

Remove from the heat and toss with the dried cranberries.

Sweet Salmon 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub two salmon fillets with a generous amount of salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cumin. Dollop enough of the sweet peach BBQ sauce on to coat the salmon. Bake covered for 20-25 minutes, depending on how well done you like your salmon.

Adam detests eating anything that comes from the water, but fish can be super healthy so we want to be able to eat it and enjoy it. This is not a "fishy" dish, even though it has salmon in it. When we were done, I asked Adam how he liked the salmon. He looked at me blankly.

"There was fish in that?! ...Huh. Didn't notice."

Score! :)

Adam's taste rating: 4 ladles

Brad's taste rating: 4 ladles

Healthy rating: 5 ladles

Ease of prep rating: 4 ladles

Overall average: 4.25 ladles

Possible variances: Add shredded carrots to the coleslaw, sweeten with molasses instead of brown sugar, cut some of the tomato paste and use more peaches for a more distinctly peachy flavor or replace the salmon with another fish (such as tilapia) or tofu.