Wild Salmon Salad

I’m pretty obsessed with wild salmon.  Whether Sockeye, Coho, or King, I can’t get enough of it.  Farmed salmon has never touched my lips, and it never will.  There are all kinds of health concerns surrounding it, and I save not so healthy foods for dessert.  Dinner, especially in summer, is all about clean, fresh, light ingredients that leave plenty of room for something sweet to round out my day.

My favorite way to prepare salmon is simply to bake it until it’s just about cooked through.  But sometimes I get bored with the same old thing, no matter how many different side dishes I serve with it.  So I came up with the idea of making salmon salad.  This is crazy easy to put together on a night you think you don’t have time to make dinner.  In the same amount of time it will take you to stop by your favorite fast food place or pizza joint to pick something up, you can make this salmon salad.

It uses leftover salmon.  So one night you bake salmon, eat most of it for dinner, but save a small portion for this salad the next night.  I wouldn’t recommend storing salmon for more than one night, two at the most, as fish spoils quite quickly, and be sure to store it in the refrigerator.  Dice some onion, wonderful Vidalias are in season now, and cucumber, add a little mustard, and orange zest if you have an orange lying around and mix.  That’s it!

I used Wild Alaskan Ivory King Salmon in this version.  It’s my favorite salmon, if not my favorite fish.  If you ever see it in the store, you’ll probably want to steer clear of it, I know I did the first time I saw it, but don’t.  It is white as its name suggests, but it has the same great texture as traditional King Salmon, with a milder flavor and a little more fat.  The fish basically melts in your mouth; it’s pretty incredible.

I like to keep it simple and let the flavor of the fish shine.  Onion and cucumber give the salad crunch, orange zest brightens it, and mustard binds it.  No need for mayonnaise, as there is already plenty of richness from the fatty fish.  Any mustard you like will work, but I used Raye’s Old World Gourmet, which is similar to Dijon in flavor, without the added calories from mayonnaise.  If you’ve never had the chance to try Raye’s Mustard see if you can find it in your local gourmet market or order some online.  If you like mustard, you’ll love theirs.  This salad is as easy as that.  Serve it with green salad, slaw, or as a sandwich for a quick dinner.  You’ll fall in love with wild salmon just like I did.