Hot-smoked Salmon & Snow Pea Salad

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1 December 2021 BY Julie Biuso
SERVES: Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter or light meal

We’ve just flicked over into summer. This is THE dish for a summery lunch in the shade, or to share with friends on a summer’s evening. It is fairly flexible, just adjust the salmon depending on your needs. To drink? Chilled Rosé I reckon.

Ingredients

6 cups baby salad leaves (see Recipe Notes) 1-2 cups fresh herbs (see Recipe Notes) 100g (3-4 oz) snow peas, trimmed 180-350g (6-12 oz) hot-smoked salmon 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp flaky sea salt (or less of regular salt) ½ telegraph (thin-skinned) cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced 1 perfectly ripe avocado, halved, peeled and sliced 1 long mild red chilli, thinly sliced Lemon wedges for serving

Method

1 Have all the salad greens and herbs picked over, washed, dried and transferred to a plastic bag lined with paper towels and put in the fridge to crispen for 1-2 hours.

2 Blanch snow peas in a saucepan of gently boiling salted water for 1 minute, drain and refresh with cold water. Drain then dry off on paper towels. Pat salmon with paper towels to absorb oil, then remove skin.

3 Whisk oil, lemon juice and flaky sea salt together in a large bowl. Add snow peas and cucumber and toss, then add all the salad greens and herbs, apart from coriander flowers if you have them, and avocado. Toss gently then transfer to a serving platter.

4 Top salad with salmon, breaking it apart into large pieces, and garnish with sliced chilli, coriander flowers and lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

If serving for a main course for two people, 180g (6 oz) salmon is probably sufficient (I know, I know, I could eat that on my own, too!). Include rocket (arugula), baby spinach leaves and lettuce leaves such as buttercrunch and cos. For herbs, choose from (or use them all!), coriander (cilantro), and coriander flowers, snipped chives, chervil, dill, parsley, basil, tarragon and fennel. In place of coriander flowers, use chive flowers, rocket flowers or other edible flowers.