Recipe: Poached Salmon Salad

I've always loved poached salmon because it's so light and delicate.
Plus, I never feel sluggish after eating it.

I honestly wanted to make a Nicoise salad but didn't really have most of of the ingredients for it. I had no potatoes, no olives, no lettuce, no shallots! UGH. So I mucked around in the kitchen to gather some ingredients that may hit close to home. Or at least satisfy my salad cravings. I remember craving for a light salad because I had gone drinking the night before, with matching fried chicken and pizza. I wanted something that was fresh and hella savoury too without it being too heavy.

This dish also has a ton of protein and good fats. If you're on a ketogenic diet, this may be a good dinner idea. The only high-carb in this would be the tomatoes and the beans. So maybe you can swap it out for other ingredients - like asparagus, cauliflower florets, or sautéed zucchini.

A lot of people are intimidated with poaching. It's just cooking in water with an "almost-boiling-more-like-simmering" temperature. I like poaching because it treats the ingredient gently and delicately. Boiling is easy - once you see the angry waters spew away, you've reached 100℃. Poaching is a technique where you cook an ingredient submerged in liquid at simmering temperature, around 71-85℃. If you don't have a thermometer, the best indication would be little bubbles dancing around the bottom of your pot or liquid. It should be a steady and continuous bubble dance. This should not be rolling or aggressive bubbles, that's boiling already.

Unfortunately, I only have 1 photo of this dish. No procedure photos. 😁
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Poached Salmon Salad
This makes 2 individual servings. Or, if you're serving this family style, you can just put this in a larger platter to share.

You'll need a stock pot, a sauce pot, a strainer, a colander, and a skillet.

Ingredients

2 eggs, large

2 cups water (for boiling the eggs)

400g French green beans, trimmed and stringed (about 2 or 2.5 cups, snip the tip of the string bean and pull the string away)

1 litre water (for boiling green beans)
1/4 cup plain balkan or greek yogurt

1 tsp dill, fresh, chopped (optional - I know some people don't like dill, you can replace with thyme)

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

2 x 100-150g salmon fillets, scaled, boneless, and skinless (Again, you're never too sure if there are any bones hanging around. So just feel the fillet with the tip of your fingers. If there are any bones, remove it with a tweezer.)

4 cups water (for poaching salmon)
salt and Pepper

1 medium avocado, cubed

salt and pepper
a sprinkling/dash of lemon juice (optional)

Truffle oil or Truffle Honey (OMG. 😳 If you haven't tried truffle honey, please. TRY. IT. NOW. Just dab a bit of this sucker onto a slice of mild gouda, gruyere, asiago, or pecorino romano and you'll be dreaming later that night for another serving. It's heaven! You can also do this with brie or camembert but I find it too rich. I like the contrast of the sweet honey taste with a medium, semi-hard, or hard cheese.)

Procedure
1. In a sauce pot, place the eggs and fill with water enough to submerge it. Set the burner on high to boil and leave for 8 minutes until the eggs are medium-boiled. Once done, strain and run through cold water. Peel and slice your eggs into wedges/quarters, and set aside. (I know there's a proper technique in boiling eggs - once the water boils, remove from heat and cover for how many minutes to achieve doneness. But I use this method because it's continuous and I achieve the outcome just the same. I also prefer medium-boiled eggs, if you want hard- or soft-boiled eggs, just adjust to your liking.)
2. In a stock pot, boil the water and once bubbling, place the green beans to cook for about 6-7 minutes. You still want it crunchy and not soggy at all. Strain the beans, run it through cold water, and strain again. In a bowl, toss the green beans with the yogurt, dill, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a skillet, heat up the olive oil in medium heat and sear the cherry tomatoes. Make sure there's space between the tomatoes so it sears evenly and doesn't steam. sear for 3 minutes and flip over. Set aside.
4. In a sauce pot (the one you used for the eggs), heat up the water for poaching the salmon. Once you see a simmering bubble dance, place the salmon fillets and poach for 8-9 minutes. Strain the salmon and season with salt and pepper.
5. Now time to assemble your salad! On one plate, place the dressed beans in the centre, add the seared tomatoes, add half of the cubed avocado, flake one salmon fillet into pieces, and add the egg wedges/quarters. Space it well so it's visually appealing.
6. Season with salt and pepper and add a sprinkling/dash of lemon juice (you can omit the lemon juice if you want).
7. If you have truffle oil or truffle honey, drizzle a teaspoon on top just before serving.
8. Enjoy!

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*If you have asiago or pecorino Romano, shave some on top. It will be glorious, I promise. I REALLY wish I had this. I'm already dreaming about it with the shaved cheese. 

**I can't take soft-boiled eggs; I just really can't with runny egg yolks - in any end product. But if you like your eggs on the runny side, go ahead! I'm sure it will taste great and add to the silky texture of the dish. (Eeewww. I can't.)

***If you want a smokey taste to the salmon, you can grill the fillets instead. Since you have the grill out, you can also grill your cherry tomatoes to save yourself a step!



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