Salmon Rainbow Party Salad Board

Name: Salmon Rainbow Party Salad Board
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ -2 pounds Wild King Salmon (skin on, patted dry); 3 tablespoons olive oil; ¼ cup capers (drained ); 1 bulb garlic (cut in half horizontally around the middle); salt; pepper; 2 avocados (thinly sliced, cut into wedges and/or leave a half or two intact to serve on the platter); 1 head cauliflower (any color, cut into bite size florets); 1 pound potatoes (either thinly sliced or cut in half if they’re baby potatoes); 1 pound shiitake mushrooms (thinly sliced ); 1 pound cherry tomatoes (cut in half and/or heirloom tomatoes, sliced into wedges); 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced lengthwise); ½ pound radishes (thinly sliced on a mandolin (if you have one, or as thin as possible with a knife)); 3/4 cup blue or feta cheese (my go to is Sheep’s milk feta); 1 orange or blood orange (thinly sliced ); 1-2 lemons and/or limes (cut into wedges); 1 bunch chives (chopped ); 1/2 cup olive oi;; 4-6 cups greens (arugula, frisée, little gems, romaine, watercress or any combination); handfull fresh herbs, such as dill and/or parsley; 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon honey; 1 shallot (roughly chopped ); 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1/4 cup tarragon leaves (chopped ); 1/2 cup olive oil (you'll have some leftover vinaigrette )

Apr 7, 2019 · 28 Comments

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A perfectly moist piece of salmon is surrounded by all sorts of fresh and seasonal goodies, ranging in textures and flavors, creating a very vibrantly nourishing salmon rainbow salad board! It’s a pick-whatcha-want-from-the-platter-and-build-your -very-own-salmon-salad-adventure situation.

It’s the dish that’s been missing from all your dinner parties that you never even knew existed!

Why this Recipe Works

Fail-proof: slowly roasting the salmon makes it nearly impossible to overcook and the result is a tender and moist fish.
The salad is versatile and easily adaptable to every season of the year so we can enjoy this party platter year round!
This dish can be as quick to make as you want it to be! It all depends on the toppings you choose.
This salmon dish falls in the magic intersection of looks highly impressive and is super easy to make!
Prepping the other ingredients and making the vinaigrette while the salmon is baking is an efficient way to whip this meal up in no time.

Idea vs. Recipe & How to Make this Recipe

So hear me out y’all! I wanna call this post an *idea* rather than a recipe.

The idea goes like this: cook a piece of salmon, put it on a large board, and surround it by all sorts of fresh and seasonal goodies. Make a vinaigrette and serve the salmon board with a bowl of greens and vinaigrette.

THAT’S IT!

In terms of goodies to surround the salmon with, think all sorts of produce, bacon (or other charcuterie), cheeses, eggs, olives, alliums, nuts…. but mostly seasonal and local produce.

So I don’t wanna be all bossy here and tell ya exactly what to surround the salmon with! Especially cause I’ve made a ton of rainbowlicious variations and they’re all winners! That’s why I’m calling this dish an idea instead of a recipe. Ya dig?!?!

Instead of giving ya an exact blueprint to replicate, I’m gonna show ya all sorts of stellar variations on of this Salmon Rainbow Party Salad Board below.

And for all of you that do strongly desire a recipe to follow, I’ll still be sharing one below so no worries, I gotcha covered too.

Use what’s local and seasonal to surround the salmon with! And that will change with the seasons.

Since first discovering this Salmon Cobb Salad I’ve been quasi-obsessed making some version of it at my dinner parties. And what I surround the salmon with changes with the seasons…. and my mood. If it will taste good in a salmon salad, it can go on this board I say!

Why I Love Serving this Salmon Salad Board at Dinner Parties

I host dinner parties quite frequently, for people to meet, mingle, eat good food, have a grand ol’ time and build community. There’s something about interactive food that’s spectacularly conducive to building community. I love it when my guests have gotta get all up in there, perhaps even using their hands, choosing what to put on their plates and hearing people asking what combo others got going on.

I often serve the platter as the finger food app, arranging it on my coffee table in my living room moments before guests arrive. It has a WOW factor to it and is a dish that fosters community building!

Cooks Tip

When possible, buy wild salmon!
For all the goodies surrounding the salmon, think fresh, local, and seasonal.
Serving size can easily vary depending on the number of people you’re cooking for.
Leave the skin on the salmon and bake skin-side down.
Check you salmon: Cooking time for salmon will vary depending on the thickness of your filet.
Vinaigrette can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated; let come to room temperature before serving.

Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with #wavesinthekitchen. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!

Let’s Makes Waves in the Kitchen!

Salmon Rainbow Party Salad Board with avocado, purple cauliflower, tomatoes, red onions, purple patties, pink and purple radishes, bacon, cheese, garlic, blood orange, lemons, limes and watermelon radishes. Up close. Overhead shot,

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4.72 from 14 votes