Poached salmon salad

plate of poached salmon salad from overhead

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5 from 1 vote

This light, colorful salad is easy to prepare, adaptable and perfect for warmer weather.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: -4

Calories: 424kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

½ cup French lentils 95g (Puy lentils, or green as alternative)
1 ½ cups water 360ml
½ Persian cucumber (also called Lebanese cucumber, or approx ⅓ English)
4 oz cherry tomatoes 115g (or other tomatoes)
½ avocado
2 oz baby asparagus 55g (or regular)
12 oz salmon fillets 325g
½ tablespoon lemon juice (approx)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the lentils and water in a pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 20 minutes until the lentils are just tender and have absorbed most of the water. Drain off any leftover water and set aside to cool.
As the lentils are cooking, prepare the rest of the salad. Slice the cucumber, halve the tomatoes (or quarter, if larger) and cut the avocado into small bite-sized pieces.
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a simmer and cook the asparagus for around 2 minutes to gently cook, then remove the asparagus and run under cold water or place in a bowl of cold water to preserve color and stop cooking. Don't discard the water.
Trim the skin and any fatty or dark areas from the salmon. Cut to even thickness pieces, as far as possible.
Squeeze the ½tbsp lemon into the water you used for the asparagus, bring back to a simmer, if not still hot, then add the salmon pieces. Keep the water just simmering and poach for around 6-8 minutes until the salmon is just cooked through and will flake. Remove the salmon and set aside.
Drizzle roughly 1 tablespoon of oil and ½tbsp lemon over the drained lentils, add a little salt and pepper and stir to mix. Divide the lentils between serving plates then top with chunks of salmon, cucumber, tomato, and avocado. Place some asparagus to one side of the place. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil, lemon and a little salt and black pepper then serve.

Video

Notes

You can use ready-cooked lentils for this if you prefer, but if so use good quality ones that hold their shape.

If you don't have or can't find baby asparagus, you can use regular asparagus bit it will take a little longer to cook - blanch until it is just tender but still with a bit of resistance to knifepoint (and so not too soft when you eat).

Instead of the oil and lemon, you can substitute with dressing of your choice (see post above for ideas, as well as other substitutions).

Nutrition