Salmon Niçoise
Foodie Lit
Summer is a great time for grilling, and not just steaks. Salad Niçoise is usually made with grilled tuna but I swapped it out for Grilled Salmon, keeping the traditional French green beans, potatoes and hardboiled eggs, added a few other veggies. I roasted the potatoes rather than boil them. This is a great dish for company or family. You can make the salmon the center of the meal or add more veggies to highlight them. So many vegetables are in season in the summer and this recipe is a perfect marriage of tastes and colors. In addition to its pretty presentation, this meal is healthy and has many ingredients that help keep us healthy in the fight against cancer, as did our author in this week’s Foodie Lit review.
Joy Clausen Soto, a young, successful dolphin trainer, finds herself fighting for her life against cancer. Her determination despite her pain and her positivity despite her losses grabs our emotions. By the end of her memoir, we feel friends.
Apparently, Joy feels the same way. She ends her memoir with this thought, “Life is full of obstacles. This will never change. What can change is the way you deal with those obstacles….It’s not what happens to you in life that determines your future. It is what you decide to do in those moments of struggle. It is your choices that you have control over…It all starts with today….I’m rooting for you.”
Salmon Niçoise
Serves 6
1 pound potatoes, chopped
8 ounces trimmed haricots verts French green beans
8 ounces cherry tomatoes
4 large hard-boiled eggs, halved
1 can chick peas, drained
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives
1 half English cucumber, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into match-stick pieces
4 radishes, sliced or whole
Lettuce of choice
1 pound skin on salmon fillet
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Duck Sauce
Salt, pepper
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Chop potatoes. Place on a parchment lined pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika or your favorite spice rub. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the potatoes midway, or until fork tender and slightly crunchy on the outside. Remove from oven and reserve.
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Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans; cook until green beans are tender, about 8 minutes. You may also add water to cover bottom of microwavable bowl. Add green beans. Cover. Cook until tender. Drain and run under cold water. Salt and put a bit of butter on the green beans while hot.
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Drain can of chickpeas and rinse. Pace in small bowl and cover with apple cider vintager. Let soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Place chickpeas on clean towel and rub to remove a bit of the vinegar. Place on a parchment lined pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 400F oven for 15-20 minutes until chickpeas are crunchy on the outside. Remove from oven and cool.
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Preheat grill or stove top grill. Pat salmon dry. Rub with sesame oil and a bit of kosher salt and ground pepper. Grill salmon side down for 5 minutes on one side. Carefully turn and grill another 5 minutes. Salmon is done when it flakes easily.
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Line a platter with lettuce. Place salmon in the center. If you like, spread with 1 tablespoon of Duck Sauce or Teriyaki Sauce. Arrange attractively with potatoes, green beans, eggs, olives and all other veggies.
Expandthetable suggestions
Other sliced veggies: Carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers
Canned additions: Artichoke hearts, Anchovy fillets
Vinaigrette sauce: Use your favorite vinaigrette on top of the lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, etc.
Salmon prep: Bake or poach according to your favorite recipe.
Hardboiled eggs: My family loves Devilled Eggs and I often make them instead of hardboiled eggs.
Vegan: Omit the salmon and grill or stir fry tofu with a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce.