This potato salad is delicious and filling, with sautéed asparagus, roasted salmon, boiled eggs, fresh fill, and hand-made mayonnaise. The flavors are well-balanced, and it’s a great side for a picnic or barbecue. In fact, it can be enjoyed all by itself!
On the Ingredients
Salmon is one of the most richly flavored and nutritious types of fish. It is packed with protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and many vital nutrients, including selenium, phosphorus, and B vitamins (more on health benefits). There are two major types of salmon available, Alaskan and Atlantic. Alaskan salmon is caught wild and is not listed as endangered. Because it is wild, these fish feed on natural foods and therefore are not treated with man-made chemicals. We carry frozen Alaskan Salmon from Mongr.net, a local company. Atlantic salmon is always farmed, as the wild Atlantic salmon is very endangered. In general, we would not recommend farmed salmon because the food they’re raised on is often treated with chemicals and dyes, and farming methods are not always ethical. However, at the Co-op, we carry fresh fillets of Scottish salmon from Wester Ross, which are in a class of their own. As they put it, “We are RSPCA assured with a marine biologist on site and our salmon are hand-fed a high quality and sustainable fishmeal, developed specifically for Wester Ross. We use no antibiotics, growth promoters or GMOs. Our farms are medicine-free and with very low stocking densities (99% water, 1% fish) and a minimal handling at sea policy, we ensure a slowly grown and naturally healthy fish; time after time.” Read more about Wester Ross’s fish here.
Dill is an herb in an herb in the celery family with a very unique taste. It pairs well with fresh, clean flavors like cucumber, mushrooms, potatoes, plain yogurt, fish, and chicken. If you can’t find fresh dill in stock, substitute with dry using 1 tsp of dry for 1 tbsp fresh. Dill is also packed with flavonoids, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke (more on health benefits).
Asparagus is a plant in the lily family. It comes in green, white, and purple varieties and has a sweet, grassy flavor. Asparagus is low in calories and packed with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It’s been shown to have some great potential benefits like helping digestion, supporting healthy pregnancies, and lower blood pressure (more on the health benefits).
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
If you don’t want to fiddle with making mayonnaise from scratch, you can substitute with 1/2 cup store bought mayo.
Salmon and Asparagus Potato Salad
6
servings45
minutes40
minutes1
hour25
minutesThis potato salad is delicious and filling, with sautéed asparagus, roasted salmon, boiled eggs, fresh fill, and hand-made mayonnaise. The flavors are well-balanced, and it’s a great side for a picnic or barbecue. In fact, it can be enjoyed all by itself!
Ingredients
- Salad ingredients
1/2 lb fillet Alaskan or Scottish salmon
salt and pepper to taste
2 lb baby potatoes
1 bunch asparagus (chopped into 1-inch pieces)
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh dill (roughly chopped)
- Mayonnaise ingredients
1 egg yolk (as fresh as possible)
1 tsp white vinegar
roughly 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash the salmon fillet and pat dry. Lightly grease a banking tray and place the salmon on it. Salt and pepper to taste and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- Wash the potatoes and cut off any dark spots. If the baby potatoes are large (think egg sizes), cut them into quarters. Put the potatoes in a saucepan and add water until there’s an inch or more over the potatoes. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes until you can just pierce the potato with a fork. Drain the potatoes and rinse them with cold water until steam stops coming off them. Set aside.
- Lightly grease a skillet with oil and put over a medium flame. Add the asparagus, salt and pepper to taste, and saute until tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and carefully add the eggs. Boil for 8 minutes, then transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water. When they’re completely cool to the touch, peel the shell off and cut them into quarters.
- To make the mayonnaise, it’s helpful to have two people, one to pour the oil and one to whisk. The secret to a good mayo is a fresh egg yolk, a thin stream of oil, and a vigorous whisk. Put the egg yolk and vinegar in a clean, dry bowl. Begin to whisk vigorously while a thin, steady stream (just a drizzle) of oil is poured into the bowl. It will take about a minute before you can tell if the mayo is emulsifying and thickening the way it should. If it’s still soupy after a minute, it will not emulsify properly, and you should start over. If it is thickening correctly, continue to drizzle the oil while whisking until you have about a cup of mayonnaise. Add the salt and garlic and mix well.
- Add the mayo to the potatoes and stir to coat—salt and pepper to taste. Cut the salt into bite-sized pieces and add it, the asparagus, and the eggs to the bowl. Mix them in gently, being careful not to break the eggs or salmon into smaller pieces. Finally, add the chopped dill and give it a few more gentle stirs. Serve and enjoy!
