Salmon Rainbow Party Salad Board
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 party salad board! It’s a pick-whatcha-want-from-the-platter-and-build-your -very-own-salmon-salad-adventure situation.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the Caper Oil & Garlic Roasted Salmon
- 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
For the Salad
- 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
For the Tarragon Vinaigrette (a vinaigrette idea)
- 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
Instructions
For the Caper Oil & Garlic Roasted Salmon
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the capers and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until capers burst and are crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer capers with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Let oil cool; set aside.
- Rub salmon all over with reserved caper oil and place skin side down on a baking sheet; season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange garlic bulb halves around salmon and drizzle with 1 tablespoon more of oil. Bake for about 15-25min, until the salmon is barely cooked through and just opaque on the inside. Exact timing will vary depending on thickness of cut, check every 10 minutes until it’s done. My pieces usually take around 20 min.
For the Salad
- For the shiitakes mushrooms: heat a skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Swirl ¼ cup of olive oil. Add mushrooms and spread in a single layer. Flip/stir every 3-5 minutes for about 15-20 minutes, until they’re nicely charred and browned all over. Don’t over-stir to allow the mushrooms to be well seared.
- For the potatoes: Put potatoes in a Dutch oven, cover with water, season generously with salt and heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook until potatoes can be pierced with a fork with no resistance, about 10 minutes. Let cool and drain. I sometimes only par-boil my potatoes and finish them in a 450 F oven with olive oil. This is optional.
- For Cauliflower: Pan Sear or Bake. To Pan Sear: heat a skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Swirl ¼ cup of olive oil. Add cauliflower and let cook, undisturbed, until deep golden on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip cauliflower and cook, stirring cauliflower as necessary, until its nicely browned all over, about 5-6 minutes more. Remove from pan and set aside. To Bake: toss with ¼ cup of olive oil and roast in an oven at 450 F until tender and browned, about 35min. Set aside.
For the Tarragon Vinaigrette
- For the tarragon vinaigrette: Using an immersion blender or standing blender, blend cider vinegar, honey, shallot, Dijon mustard, tarragon, and a large pinch of salt until well combined and tarragon and shallot are finely chopped. Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk in remaining 1 cup olive oil. Season with salt, if needed.
To Arrange the Salad
- Place salmon on the center of the board and surround with all your toppings. Sprinkle the fried capers and fresh herbs on top. Serve alongside the bowl of greens and vinaigrette. Enjoy!
Notes
- 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.
- 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 with 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.