Tuna salad niçoise is one of the most popular salads I serve in my restaurant. Clean, healthy and packed with omegas and protein, it’s my personal favorite, too! In this variation, I use king salmon and poach it lightly in a fume of aromatics. The result is a tender, flaky and succulent salmon. This salad behaves as an entrée dish and has everything you need for a nourishing meal. I always serve it with lemon vinaigrette. Fish, being parve, is perfect to have on dairy-laden Shavuot and for Shabbat afternoon lunches!
Poached Salmon Salad Niçoise
Ingredients
- Poached salmon:
- 2 pounds salmon filets
- 5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon pickling spice
- 3 lemon slices
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 carrot
- Parsley
- Lemon vinaigrette:
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of two lemons
- 2 tablespoons strong mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 dashes hot sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Salad:
- 2 heads Belgian endive
- 1 small head radicchio
- 1 pound fresh asparagus, blanched and chilled
- 6 hard-cooked eggs, halved (I love using organic eggs for this)
- 1 large tomato, cut into wedges
- 1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 1 pound potatoes, cooked (I roast mine)
- ½ cup niçoise olives
- 6-8 anchovy filets
- Meyer lemons
Directions
- In a 2-quart pot, add all the ingredients except the salmon. Bring to a boil and then gently add the salmon filets, cover, turn heat down to a low simmer and poach for 8-10 minutes. Very carefully remove the salmon, remove the skin and allow to cool.
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk or shake all ingredients together until combined.
- Arrange all the salad components on a large platter. Add the salmon last and drizzle with lemon vinaigrette.
