Salmon Summer Salad

There it is. Salmon in all its glory. I like to say that we eat with our eyes. This dish lends itself to that; communication between your eyes and mouth has never been better. Sweetness, with a bit of tanginess, umami, and little pop of pepper and salt. Smoke your own salmon, or buy some from the shop, it's all good. Happy New Year from New Zealand!

Tools

- Sharp Knife

- Peeler

- Chopping Board

- Dish for Blanching Asparagus and Spinach

- Roasting Tray

- Frying Pan

- Brush

- Kettle

Ingredients

- 250g Smoked Salmon

- 1 Bunch of Asparagus (~7 spears per person, woody part removed)

- 100g Spinach, stalks removed

- 300g Orange sweet potato (other sweet potato also fine) Peeled and diced, 1 inch cubes.

- 1 Orange, peeled, sectioned and diced. (We don't fudge with pith.)

- 1 Red Capsicum, sliced, diced, whatever appeals.

- 1 Medium Red Onion, finely sliced

- 6 Garlic Cloves, minced

- Dried oregano

- Paprika

- Lime Juice

- Lemon Juice

- Sea Salt and Pepper

- Rice Bran Oil or other cooking oil

- Optional - White Button Mushrooms (I forgot to put the ones I'd made into the salad for the picture.)

For those who have store bought salmon also include:

- Molasses

- Lime Juice

Method

Preheat oven to 190 C

It's all in the prep. Do you want to eat it warm or cool? Either, it doesn't matter. Either way you're sorting out your components first, arranging them after. You can each component in any order if you're eating it cold, but this way is the fastest, and will get you the warmest results.

In the frying pan, lug a bit of oil and saute onions and 2/3 of your minced garlic on a medium heat. You want them browning slightly, but mostly going translucent. Remove to a bowl once done.

At this point, if you want your button mushrooms, make sure the pan is well-oiled, halve your mushrooms and cook them face down until the cut side is caramelized. Flip once caramelized, salt and paprika.

With your store bought salmon, mix 1tsp molasses, 3tsp lime juice, 1 tsp paprika and a pinch of salt. Brush the mixture atop your salmon. If you're smoking your own salmon, this is the mixture I used, plus garlic and pepper, along with cherry and apple wood chips.

Toss the cubes of sweet potato in remainder of the garlic, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, with a couple of pinches of salt and a few grinds of cracked pepper in a roasting dish. Drizzle with rice bran oil and toss again. Put it in the oven for 30 minutes.

In the last five minutes of cooking the sweet potatoes, boil the kettle with a litre of water. Put your asparagus in a dish for blanching. Once the kettle has boiled, pour the water over the asparagus. Leave for 2 minutes. After that two minutes, throw in the spinach, submerge them until they give a little to the heat (around 30 seconds), then drain the whole lot.

Sweet potatoes out of the oven.

Toss the sweet potato, capsicum, orange and onion together on your serving dish or tray, then fold in the spinach and flakes/chunks of salmon, then poke the asparagus spears in about the place.

Salt. Serve. Perhaps a little dash of lemon juice. Each to their own!

Enjoy!