Cool down with this easy Salmon Salad! Poached salmon is gently tossed with celery, red onions, capers and dill and is perfect for brunch or a light lunch.
Are you a salmon lover?
Here’s a salmon salad made with freshly poached salmon that’s restaurant-worthy. It’s light, cool, and wonderfully flavored with dill, capers, and lemon. Perfect for brunch or a light lunch!
For this salmon salad, the fillets are first salted and chilled. This gives the salt time to soak into the fillets and give them more flavor.
We then lightly poach the salmon fillets in salted water with a lemon wedge for just a few minutes.
Next, we toss the cooled, poached salmon with celery, red onions, capers, fresh dill, and extra virgin olive oil along with lemon juice and zest.
Poach the salmon for best results
You could use leftover cooked salmon from a summer barbecue for this salmon salad recipe, but poaching it is easy enough. Poaching gives you more control over how long you want the salmon to cook.
You want to cook the salmon just enough so that it’s just cooked through. This is how it becomes tender. Overcooked salmon is dry and tough.
Tips for the best salmon salad
- Freshness is everything. Use fresh fish whenever possible (or cook it once you’ve thawed frozen fish). Fresh fish loses quality every day after being caught. So cook the fish the day you buy it.
- Use quality salmon. Wild salmon tastes better than farmed salmon. However, farmed (properly farmed) salmon can be a sustainable and more budget-friendly option. Check out the Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch to buy the best salmon, or buy from reputable sources.
- Don’t overcook it! Fish tastes best when it’s barely cooked through. After that it starts to dry out.
- eat it up This salad will keep in the fridge for a day or two, but is best eaten the day it’s made.
Do you love salmon? Here are 5 more ways to enjoy it:
- Salmon Avocado Poke Bowl
- Angel Hair Pasta with Salmon, Arugula and Creamy Lemon Parmesan Sauce
- Salmon Macaroni Salad
- salmon spread
- Fresh salmon cake with spicy mayo
Fresh salmon salad
Salt and chill the salmon fillet first before preparing the other ingredients.
ingredients
For the salmon:
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1 lb salmon filletcut in half
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1/2 teaspoon Sea-salt, for the friction
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4 cups water
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1 1/2 teaspoon Sea-salt, for the poaching liquid
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1 disc lemon
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1 teaspoon lemon juice
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1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil
For the salad:
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2 stems celeryfinely chopped
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1/2 Red onionpeeled, finely chopped
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1 tablespoon capersStrain the curd juice
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1 teaspoon Lemon peel
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3 tablespoon lemon juice
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1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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2 tablespoon fresh dillchopped
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1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
method
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Preparation of the salmon fillets:
Rub the salmon fillets all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
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Make the dressing:
In a large bowl, combine celery, red onion, capers, lemon zest and juice, dill, olive oil, black pepper. Set aside to allow the flavors to blend.
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Poach Salmon:
In a saucepan large enough to hold the salmon, add 4 cups of water, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and a lemon wedge. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Put the salmon in the pot. Return to a simmer and cook at a simmer for 4 minutes.
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Chill and shred the salmon:
When the salmon is just cooked through, remove it from the poaching liquid and place it in a bowl. Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Once cool to the touch, gently break the salmon into pieces.
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Prepare the salad:
Add the salmon to the bowl with the celery, onions and capers. Swirl gently to combine. Serve as is or over mixed leafy greens or butter salad.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 285 | calories |
| 19g | Fat |
| 3g | carbohydrates |
| 26g | protein |
