a slow roasted salmon niçoise with tangy buttermilk dressing for spring
the LA cheffing chronicles part 2
happy monday! today I’m bringing you the salad that my clients described as “like actually award-worthy… omg.” and that’s a direct quote.
the niçoise is a salad I constantly find myself gravitating to and iterating on. I’ve made the most delicious tuna tartare niçoise where I dress the crudo in a classic steak tartare leaning dressing with anchovies, capers, lemon and olive oil. I’ve prepared some asian leaning niçoise salads with black and white sesame crusted tuna too.
today’s niçoise iteration swaps out tuna for a slow roasted salmon that I like to gently flake throughout the salad. for toppings we have tomatoes two ways, a jammy egg, crispy potatoes, salty dried olives I scooped from the Santa Monica Farmer’s market along with lots of beautiful spring produce like little gem lettuces, sugar snap peas, and California avocados (best I’ve ever had!!!!!)
as for the dressing- we are going non-traditional and creamy. clip that.
it’s tangy from the buttermilk, lemon and yogurt. savory from the the worcestershire and kewpie. spicy from the mustard and green garlic. and fresh from the parlsey that finishes her off. this dressing would be good on just about any salad but she really shines with this niçoise.
what you need
for the salad (serves 4)
1 ~1.5 Ib salmon fillet
6-8 little gem lettuces, washed and dried
handful of sugar snap peas, washed and split down the middle
handful niçoise olives, or use your favorite (I used local dried olives), halved or quartered
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
~1 Ib baby potatoes
4 eggs
fresh sourdough
soft goat cheese
sungold/cherry tomatoes on vine, half removed from vine and halved
1 lemon, cut into wedges for garnish
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
for the dressing
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp greek yogurt
2 tbsp kewpie mayo
1 heaping tbsp whole grain mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp worcestershire
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped green garlic (can sub shallots)
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
fresh cracked black better
what you do
Start by prepping the salad fixings.
for the salmon, preheat oven to 325 ° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place salmon on top, then season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. cook for 15- 20 mins, depending on the thickness of the fillet and your desired final temperature. For salmon I actually prefer medium- medium well so that the salmon flakes with a fork throughout. I like to serve the salmon room temperature so no worries about keeping her warm to serve.
for the potatoes, preheat your oven to 400° F with your baking sheet inside. slice your potatoes in half or quarters depending on the size and toss generously with olive oil, salt and pepper. once preheated, line your baking sheet with parchment paper and dump potatoes, arranging cut side down. bake for 30- 40 mins until golden brown. if after 20 mins the potatoes are not browning, turn on convection and continue cooking.
*I used leftover potato salad and roasted in the oven until crispy. it worked beautifully
for the eggs bring a small pot of water to a simmer and add 1/2 tsp of baking soda (helps the eggs to peel easily!) carefully lower in eggs and cook for 7 mins (this will give you perfectly jammy eggs.) immediately transfer to an ice bath and peel once cool.
for the crostini and tomatoes spread goat cheese generously onto sourdough slices and place on a baking sheet (*do not line with parchment paper since we are broiling*). Add a few vines of tomatoes and drizzle everything with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. broil in the oven for 3-5 mins until the crostini is bubbling and beginning to brown, and the tomatoes are charred and blistered. I like to do this step just before serving.
while one of the above is cooking, you should have a nice pocket of time to make the dressing.
whisk together everything besides the olive oil in your bowl until smooth. while continuing to whisk, stream in olive oil. taste and season with additional salt, pepper, or lemon as needed.
to assemble, toss little gem leaves generously with the dressing and a drizzle of olive oil until evenly coated. sprinkle in 1/2 the toppings (besides salmon, eggs, and roasted tomatoes + crostini) and toss the salad again, then divide evenly between plates. sprinkle with the reserved toppings. divide the salmon and flake varying sized pieces around the salad, then finish with your halved jammy eggs, blistered tomatoes on the vine, crostini, and lemon wedges on the side. Add a few cracks of black pepper for good measure.
I don’t think a salad could get more perfect than this one. especially this time of year. menu from the second half of the day (hint: we stick with the french vibe…) coming tomorrow.
xx,
Maddy
Wow! Exquisite!