Salmon with chocolate-soy sauce featuring Linwoods’ Flaxseeds, Cocoa and Mixed Berries

 Few weeks ago Bethany of Dirty Kitchen Secrets launched a recipe contest on the new Linwoods’ product: Flaxseeds, Cocoa and Mixed Berries sprinkle.
I have come to know Linwoods’ products since last year Food Bloggers Connect conference. In our goodie bags we found few nice pouches of their healthy products featuring flaxseeds, goji berries, hemp, sesame and other yummy and nutritious seeds to sprinkle almost on anything that comes to your mind. For instance, lately I always add them to my healthy sweet fix of the day: sweetened quark cream with nuts, honey and sometimes also herbs or berries depending on what I have in the fridge.

This latter product of theirs with the addition of low-fat cocoa powder complements the natural astringency of the grounded flaxseeds with the aromatic body of cocoa and the nuttiness of the other ingredients. The complex results quite fresh to the taste but still robust and of character. Because of this reasons I thought of coupling it with some juicy salmon and a sauce that will support the cocoa notes, so here you are my

Seared salmon with Linwoods’ seeds, berry and cocoa mix served with a soy-chocolate dip, blanched fava beans, chervil and ginger.

Ingredients (make 2 servings):

• 2 salmon fillets (thawed if frozen);
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce;
• 1 tsp light soy sauce (plus some more to season if needed);
• 2 tsps water;
• 1/4 tsp Chinese rice wine;
• 4g bittersweet chocolate, chopped (roughly 1/2 tsp);
• 3 tsps Linwoods’ Flaxseeds, Cocoa and berries mix, plus some more as sprinkle;
• 2 tbsp fava beans, blanched;
• 2-4 thin slices of fresh ginger;
• 2 sprigs of chervil.

Procedure:
Heat well a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Pat the salmon fillets dry using paper towels and when the pan will be ready, place them in it searing the first side. Wait 2-3 minutes before turning them, by now the first side should show a lovely orangey crust with dark grill-like marks; if this is not the case do not turn the fillets yet. When also the second side will be seared, it will take another 2-3 minutes, place the fillets on a plate and let them rest covered with some aluminum paper.
To prepare the sauce, in a tiny sauce pan combine the soy sauces with the water, rice wine and chocolate. Delicately warm the sauce to let the chocolate melt whisking to incorporate it. You can always place the saucepan in another bowl containing hot water; since chocolate melts below body temperature so you won’t need really boiling water. If needed, you can now season the sauce furthermore with some light soy sauce.
While the sauce is cooling down, take away the tough skin from the fava beans by pinching it open and squeezing the seed out, we don’t need mash for this recipe so be gentle.
Slice now the salmon fillets along the short axis in bite sized pieces and coat one side of half of them with the Linwoods’ seeds and berries mix.
Plate the salmon bites with the side of fava beans. Drizzle the salmon and the dish with a little of the sauce (not the beans). Place the ginger slices and the chervil branch in a decorative manner and serve with the remaining sauce in a dipping dish and some more Linwoods’ cocoa seeds and berries mix as sprinkle.