Learn how to make this Fresh Spring Salad with Smoked Salmon and Honey Dijon Vinaigrette.
Every week I walk into the market with a meal plan in place, a list written out and the very best intentions. But, sometimes (every week) I walk out with a cart full of items I didn’t need, items missing from the original well thought out list, and about 8 additional meals on tops of the preplanned 7 (all for a family of three).
In other words, I have a grocery shopping addiction.
aka I’m a food blogger
Since we are firm believers in never wasting food, sometimes I have to get creative with all the unused or half-used items in our pantry. In winter, I often make soups. Seriously, you guys, if you have a drawer full of veggies about to go bad, toss them in a pot, add some seasoning and you’ve got yourself dinner. You can even get fancy and throw some noodles in there. Tacos are another favorite fridge clean-out dinner. How is it that everything is so good when it’s wrapped in a tortilla?? How HOW?
And then there are times that I get really lucky and it’s like the ingredients make dinner for me. This is a salad made from half used ingredients or scraps that were on the brink of spoiling. Rather than throwing them in the bin, I put them in a bowl and a salad was born. Those raspberries, few potatoes, smoked salmon, red onion… all parts of other recipes that didn’t make it in the dish. As for the asparagus and pea shoots? Well, those were part of that not-needed item list.
My favorite part about dinners like this is there are not rules. Add as much or as little as you wish. If you hate smoked salmon, don’t add it! If you would rather add strawberries, go for it. Honestly, it’s not going to change the dish that much. That said, however, this salad came together beautifully. The mix of savory, sweet, salty, fresh. It was all so good.
One thing to note- this salad is east to make. The hardest part, honestly, is making the soft boiled eggs. However, there are a lot of elements going on at once. So while the time to make and cook is just 30 minutes, it is a very interactive 30 minutes. Read the instructions thoroughly before making 🙂
RECIPE CARD
Fresh Spring Salad with Smoked Salmon
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
- 6 yellow potatoes - or red potatoes halved
- 4 ounces wild arugula
- 4 ounces fresh baby kale
- 2 ounces pea shoots
- 5 ounces cold smoked salmon
- 4 radishes - washed and sliced
- ½ red onion - sliced
- ½ pound asparagus
- 1 cup fresh peas
- 2 soft boiled eggs
- Raspberries or strawberries - optional
FOR THE HONEY DIJON VINAIGRETTE
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1.5 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt + pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and add potatoes. Bring water to a boil over high heat, boiling potatoes until fork tender and fully cooked.
- At the same time, fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Use a slotted spoon to lower desired number of eggs into the water, one at a time. Cook eggs for approximately 7-8 minutes, adjusting temperature to maintain a low boil. carefully remove eggs from the pot and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool (approximately 2 minutes). Set eggs aside until ready to peel.
- Meanwhile, as the potatoes finish cooking, prepare remaining salad ingredients. In a large salad bowl add the arugula, baby kale, and pea shoots. Organize the smoked salmon, sliced radish, and red onion on top of the bed of greens and set aside. Chop woody ends from asparagus spears and chop them in half.
- Prepare the vinaigrette- in a medium bowl whisk together the dijon mustard, honey, white wine vinegar, water, olive oil, and salt + pepper until fully combined. Set aside.
- By this point, your potatoes and eggs should be cooked and ready. Use a slotted spoon to remove potatoes from the boiling water (do NOT dump out the water!) and transfer to a clean bowl or plate. Return pot of water to a boil and add the asparagus and fresh peas. Grab a big bowl, fill with ice and water and set aside.
- Cook the asparagus and peas in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes (max!) and drain. Immediately transfer veggies to the ice bath to prevent further cooking and drain again.
- Arrange potatoes, peeled and sliced eggs, asparagus and peas on top of your salad bowl, top with sliced strawberries and raspberries (if desired) and drizzle with vinaigrette.
- Best served immediately.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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