Warm Salmon and Nicoise Salad

Turning on the oven to prepare a salad may not seem very logical, but I find it’s much easier to add a range of ingredients to a single baking tray rather than blanching them separately in pots of boiling water and fiddling about with colanders and the like. More importantly, it also means that valuable nutrients aren’t leaching into the water, as they do when you boil vegetables. Of course, if you would prefer not to turn on the oven, you can easily steam the vegetables, which would be preferable to boiling them.

INGREDIENTS

  • 750 g (1 lb 10 oz) kipfler (fingerling) or new potatoes, scrubbed, then cut into bite-sized chunks

  • olive oil, for drizzling

  • 400 g (14 oz) skinless, boneless salmon or trout

  • 250 g (9 oz) green beans, topped and halved

  • 6–8 asparagus spears, trimmed, halved crossways

  • 1⁄2 cup (100 g) marinated artichokes, cut into small wedges

  • 1⁄2 cup (75 g) pitted green olives

  • 250 g (9 oz) grape or cherry tomatoes,halved

  • 2 medium-boiled eggs (see tip on page 54), shelled and quartered

Herb and mustard dressing

  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

  • 2 anchovies, very finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

  2. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on one side of the baking tray. Drizzle with oil, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, anchovies, lemon juice and mustard until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the tarragon.

  4. After the potatoes have been baking for 15 minutes, add the salmon to the other side of the baking tray, along with the beans and asparagus. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until the salmon is just cooked and the vegetables are just tender. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

  5. Add the beans, asparagus and potatoes to the bowl of dressing, along with the artichokes, olives and tomatoes. Toss to combine, then divide among serving bowls.

  6. Flake the salmon over the top, garnish with the egg quarters and serve immediately.


top tip

You can use dill or parsley in place of tarragon.

3 1⁄2 serves veg per serve

1 serve protein per serve

100% RDI phosphorus 

35% RDI fibre per serve 

Good source of monounsaturated fat (from salmon, extra virgin olive oil and olives)