Salmon + Peach Ginger Salsa + Garden Pesto Bowl
A late-summer bowl built around flavour, flexibility and nourishment.
There’s something about late summer that makes cooking feel effortless. The garden is full, peaches are at their juiciest, herbs are everywhere and dinner can be as simple as gathering a few good ingredients and putting them in a bowl.
This Salmon + Peach Ginger Salsa + Garden Pesto Bowl is the first recipe in my Her Rooted Bowls series — a collection of flexible, nourishing bowls designed to help you build a meal without having to start from scratch every time.
The idea is simple: you don't need another recipe. You need a framework.
The Her Rooted Bowl Framework
Every bowl starts with five elements:
🌿 NOURISH
A flavour-packed foundation that brings everything together — pesto, sauce, dressing or dip.
🐟 PROTEIN
A source of protein to add substance and staying power. This could be salmon, chicken, eggs, tofu, tempeh, beans or lentils.
🌈 ANTIOXIDANT
Colourful fruits, vegetables and herbs that bring flavour, variety and plant compounds to your plate.
🌱 FIBRE
This is where you get to choose. Lentils, beans, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice or roasted sweet potato all work beautifully.
✨ BALANCE
Healthy fats and nutrient-dense extras — avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil and fresh herbs.
The framework stays the same, but the ingredients can change completely depending on the season, what you're craving or what happens to be sitting in your fridge.
The Garden Pesto
This pesto is one of my favourite parts of the bowl because it makes use of something we often overlook: carrot tops.
Along with fresh basil, parsley and mint, the carrot tops create a vibrant, herbaceous pesto that's blended with hemp hearts, lemon, garlic and avocado oil. It's bright, fresh and earthy with just enough richness to bring the whole bowl together.
And don't stop at this bowl — spoon it over roasted vegetables, spread it on toast, toss it with grains or lentils, or serve it alongside eggs.
The Peach Ginger Salsa
The salsa is where the bowl really comes alive.
Juicy peaches are paired with crisp cucumber, shallot, fresh herbs and a little grated ginger. Lime adds acidity and keeps everything bright. The combination of sweet peach + fresh ginger + creamy avocado + savoury pesto + salmon gives you plenty of contrast in every bite.
It's one of those combinations that feels a little unexpected, but makes perfect sense once you taste it.
Why Salmon?
Salmon brings a substantial source of protein along with omega-3 fatty acids. It's also incredibly easy to prepare, which makes it perfect for a bowl that is meant to be practical enough for a weeknight. But salmon isn't a requirement. That's the beauty of the framework. You could swap it for grilled chicken, trout, eggs, tofu, tempeh or a combination of beans and lentils.
Choose Your Fibre
This is the part I really want to emphasize with the Her Rooted Bowls series. There isn't one perfect base.
Choose what works for you:
Lentils for plant protein and plenty of fibre
Beans for fibre and plant protein
Quinoa for fibre and protein
Brown or wild rice for a hearty grain base
Sweet potato for a naturally sweet, colourful root vegetable
You can even combine them. A little lentil + roasted sweet potato situation would be very welcome here. The goal isn't to create a perfect bowl. It's to create a meal that feels balanced, satisfying and delicious.
How to Build Your Bowl
Start with a generous spoonful of garden pesto. Add your fibre-rich base, followed by roasted salmon and plenty of peach ginger salsa. Add sliced avocado for creaminess, then finish with fresh herbs and a sprinkle of hemp hearts. Serve with a squeeze of lemon or lime. And that's it.
The best part?
Tomorrow, your bowl can look completely different.
Swap the salmon for chicken
Use roasted squash instead of sweet potato.
Try chickpeas instead of lentils.
Make a new dressing.
Add whatever vegetables or fruits are in season.
Same framework. Different bowl.
That's the idea behind Her Rooted Bowls — creating a little more structure around nourishing food, while leaving plenty of room for real life.
Salmon + Peach Ginger Salsa + Garden Pesto Bowl
A bright late-summer bowl with roasted salmon, juicy peach + ginger salsa and a garden pesto made with carrot tops, herbs and hemp hearts. Choose your favourite fibre-rich base to make it your own.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12–14 minutes
Total Time: 32–34 minutes
Serves: 4 portions
Ingredients
Garden Pesto:
1½ cups packed fresh basil
¾ cup tender carrot tops, thick stems removed
½ cup fresh parsley
¼ cup fresh mint
⅓ cup hemp hearts
1–2 garlic cloves
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup avocado oil
½ tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2–3 tbsp cold water, as needed
Peach Ginger Salsa:
2 ripe peaches, finely diced
½ English cucumber, finely diced
1 small shallot, finely diced
¼ cup fresh mint and/or basil, finely chopped
1–2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Salmon:
4 salmon fillets, about 5–6 oz each
1 tbsp avocado oil
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper
Zest of ½ lemon
Choose Your Fibre:
2 cups cooked lentils
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked brown or wild rice
2 cups cooked white or black beans
2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted and cubed
Additional serving options:
1 avocado, sliced
Fresh herbs
Hemp hearts
Lemon or lime wedges
Method
1. Make the Garden Pesto
Add basil, carrot tops, parsley, mint, hemp hearts, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the avocado oil. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach a smooth, spoonable consistency. Taste and adjust with additional lemon or salt as needed.
2. Make the Peach Ginger Salsa
Combine peaches, cucumber, shallot, herbs and ginger in a bowl. Add lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently toss and let sit for 10–15 minutes to allow the flavours to come together.
3. Roast the Salmon
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
Place the salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with avocado oil and season with salt, garlic powder, pepper and lemon zest.
Roast for 10–14 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets, until cooked through and flakes easily.
4. Build Your Bowl
Add a generous spoonful of Garden Pesto to each bowl. Add your chosen fibre-rich base, followed by the salmon and peach ginger salsa.
Finish with sliced avocado, fresh herbs and hemp hearts. Serve with lemon or lime wedges.
A Note From the Rooted Table
I love recipes that give you a starting point rather than a set of rules.
Use what you have. Follow the season. Change the protein. Try a different fibre. Add more vegetables. Make the pesto your own.
The goal isn't a perfect bowl. It's a bowl that nourishes you and makes you excited to sit down and eat it. 🌿