Cold-smoked salmon salad

I previously made a salad with hot-smoked salmon, the type of smoked salmon that comes as a chunk and is flaky. I thought it would be interesting to make a salad with cold-smoked salmon (also sometimes called lox), the kind that comes in thin, smooth sheets. The two types of smoked salmon are very different so that would make for a distinctive salad.

I took about 3 sheets of the salmon and tore them into bite-sized pieces to place on the lettuce. This was probably just under half of the typical 4-ounce package. Cold-smoked salmon is very rich, so this was definitely a sufficient quantity for me.

Cold-smoked salmon is typically served with capers, red onions, and hard-cooked eggs as accompaniments. So these were obvious choices to include on the salad.

For the dressing, I chose to make a lemon vinaigrette. I used 2 tablespoons of oil rather than the usual 3 with the tablespoon of lemon juice. I didn’t think I needed as much dressing and I wanted it to be lighter, with the lemon more prominent. I added some fines herbes from Penzeys. This mixture includes chervil, parsley, tarragon, and chives, which seemed like they would complement the salad nicely. Of course other herbs (or none at all) could be used.

lettuce (I used baby romaine)
cold-smoked salmon, slices torn into bite-sized pieces
1–2 hard cooked eggs, diced
red onion, sliced and then cut into smaller pieces
capers

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon herbs

Arrange the salmon, eggs, onion, and capers on the lettuce. Whisk or shake in a small jar the oil, lemon juice, and herbs. Spoon over the salad.

Crab and artichoke salad

I think composed salads are always attractive and fun to eat. But do they have to be done on a bed of lettuce? I don’t see why. This one got started with the observation that crab and artichokes just seem to go well together. Add tomatoes, hard-cooked eggs, and avocado and you’ve got the makings of a really good salad.

For the crab, I like the lump crab meat that comes refrigerated–I think that is the best you can get, short of using fresh crabs, of course. While I often use and like canned artichoke hearts, frozen artichokes seemed the better choice for this salad. Any type of tomatoes could be used, large tomatoes cut into wedges or smaller pieces, cherry or grape tomatoes. I used mini heirloom tomatoes which are both tasty and, since they come in multiple colors, add visual variety to the salad. The dressing is my standard, go-to vinaigrette.

crab meat
frozen artichoke hearts
tomatoes
1–2 eggs
avocado
lemon wedges

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence
fresh ground pepper

To allow some time to cool, cook the artichokes and eggs at least an hour before serving the salad. Put the frozen artichoke hearts in a pan with water, bring to the boil, simmer about 3 minutes, and drain. Put the eggs in cold water, bring to the simmer and cook for 12 minutes. Run cold water into the pan to stop the cooking and start the cooling.

To serve, arrange the ingredients on the plate–the crab, artichoke hearts, tomatoes cut into appropriately sized pieces, the hard-cooked eggs cut in quarters lengthwise, and the avocado slices.

Whisk or shake in a small jar the oil, vinegar, mustard, and spices. Spoon the dressing over the artichokes, tomatoes, and avocado. Add lemon wedges for the crab.

Crab and shrimp Cobb salad

I really like Cobb salads. They’re attractive, especially if the toppings are all lined up in rows as they should be. And the combination of all the different ingredients makes a very tasty salad. I wanted to try making a variation, not strictly a Cobb salad as it would have different ingredients, but following the same theme.

I had a crab salad a while back that got me thinking. The crab was great, but it was accompanied by indifferent vegetables. So what about doing a crab salad right, with a better selection of additional toppings? What about including shrimp as well? And what about making it into a Cobb salad?

So what to include with the crab and shrimp? Tomatoes and avocadoes were an easy call. (I used mini heirloom tomatoes, which are so neat looking.) I thought cucumber would go well. Hard-cooked eggs are a standard Cobb salad ingredient and would work. The Roquefort or blue cheese from the traditional Cobb salad did not seem to be quite right to go with the crab and shrimp. I chose instead some shredded Gruyere and Swiss cheese.

For the dressing, I chose to use the Louis vinaigrette I made for the crab Louis salad. For this salad, covered with the rows of the various toppings, I chose to serve it on the side.

2–1/2 to 3 ounces lump crab meat (I used the refrigerated crab)
1/4 pound or less small cooked shrimp
butter lettuce
tomatoes (I used mini heirloom tomatoes cut in half)
1/4 avocado cut into pieces
similar amount of cucumber cut into pieces
1 hard-cooked egg chopped
shredded Gruyere and Swiss cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chili or cocktail sauce

Put the lettuce on the plate, cut up a little if necessary to make a nice bed for the remaining ingredients. Arrange the other ingredients in rows on top of the lettuce.

Whisk or shake in a small jar the oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, and cocktail sauce. Serve on the side.

Poached egg and bacon salad – Salade Lyonnaise

After making the corned beef hash frittata with the poached egg on the top and having the egg come out nicely, I thought it would be good to have a salad with poached eggs. Bacon was an obvious choice to include with the eggs.

As I often do when making a new salad, I then went online for further ideas. Of course my idea was hardly original. In fact, this salad was famous and named for the city of Lyon, France. The recipes called for bacon or pork lardons, poached eggs, frisee, and a vinaigrette made with the warm bacon fat. Some recipes included croutons while others showed slices of toasted bread on the side. I decided to be sinful and grill the bread in butter like a grilled cheese sandwich.

A note on the base for the salad. Frisee seemed to be called for most often. Some mentioned using curly endive because they couldn’t find frisee. And yet other recipes just said to use curly endive. In looking around, I found curly endive. But then I did a little research online to find out what the difference was between frisee and curly endive. The answer: none. Frisee is another name for curly endive. Also, the more yellow leaves at the center are milder and more tender.

This was a fantastic salad, thanks to what I learned doing the research online. I am adding it to my list of the great salads along with Caesar salad and salade Nicoise.

3 slices bacon cut into 3/4-inch to 1-inch pieces
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vinegar for poaching eggs
frisee or curly endive
2 slices French bread
butter

1–2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper

Tear the frisee or curly endive into bite-sized pieces and have ready on the plate for the final assembly.

Cook the bacon. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel. Leave the bacon fat in the pan.

For poaching the eggs, heat water about 1–1/2 inches deep in a nonstick pan to a low simmer, about 190 degrees F, adding 1 tablespoon vinegar. Break each egg into a separate custard cup. Place the eggs in the water by tilting the cup, lowering it into the water, and letting the egg slide out. Cook for 4–1/2 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon. Place on a towel and trim off any white around the edges with the spoon.

While poaching the eggs, melt butter in a pan and grill the slices of bread until golden, as you would in making a grilled cheese sandwich. Keep warm in the oven.

For the dressing, add olive oil to the pan to total about 3 tablespoons with the bacon fat (judge by eye). Heat and cook the shallots for several minutes. Combine the red wine vinegar, mustard, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly pour the bacon fat, olive oil, and shallots into the bowl, whisking to combine. Spoon as much of the dressing as desired onto the salad and toss to coat all over. Top with the eggs and the bacon, with the toasted bread on the side.