Catfish Out of Water

In my back-to-back-to-back series of salmon dishes, ranging from my Salmon Salad w/ Avocado Dip to Salmon Bruschetta w/ Avocado Dip & Poached Eggs to now this Salmon & Vermicelli Salad. I am in full on seafood mode. I grew up on the West Coast where salmon season was indeed a yearly ritual. Living in rural Wisconsin, it's a little bit more difficult to find around here! Especially in a sustainable quality and at a reasonable price. So, when the opportunity does present itself, I jump at the chance and make as much with salmon as I can muster!

These days I don't eat that much meat. At restaurants, back before the Coronavirus days when that was indeed a thing, I would only get vegetarian meals. A lot of cooks and servers have no idea of the providence of the fish and, having worked in the restaurant industry for more than a decade, I can say with absolute certainty that it can be a difficult thing to keep fresh and properly cook in bulk.

Salmon actually keeps incredibly well compared to much of the other seafood varieties and is one of my favorite things to make at home. I have it leftover with a plethora of Vermicelli Salad w/ Avocado, Cucumber, & Tomato and Avocado Dip w/ Tahini & Lemon. So, it seemed only natural to mix them all together!

Gallery

Variations of Salmon Salad

I'm incredibly fond of making salmon salads. Salmon keeps incredibly well for fish, is one of the easier seafoods to cook because it turns that quintessential color and flakiness while cooking, and because it's incredibly versatile. Salmon works for a variety of salads, ranging from several different corners of the globe. It's subtle flavor pairs well in a plethora of dishes and varying flavor combinations.

Salad w/ Wine Poached Salmon, Ethiopian Lentils, & Sautéed Spinach

Salmon & Avocado Dip Salad

Salad w/ Wine Poached Salmon & Saffron Rice

Salad w/ Salmon, Vermicelli Salad, & Avocado Dip

This salmon salad combines oven-baked salmon with vermicelli and fresh produce as well as avocado and Greek yogurt dip. It's a great way to utilize leftovers or to make fresh in an afternoon. And is far more impressive looking than the effort that actually goes into making it! Given how much of this meal is simply freshly chopped fruits and vegetables? It's strikingly simple to make.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American, Italian, Japanese, Middle Eastern

Servings 1 serving

Equipment

• Cast Iron Griddle (or Baking Sheet, or Foil)
• Oven (or Barbecue)
• Large Bowl
• Large Pot
• Stovetop
• Food Processor

Ingredients

  

Baked Salmon

• 1 filet salmon
• splash olive oil
• lemons sliced

Vermicelli Salad

• 100 g. vermicelli
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 tomato diced
• 1/2 English cucumber (or 1 standard cucumber), diced
• 1 tbsp. ginger minced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 shallot minced
• 1 avocado diced
• 3 tbsp. tamari
• 3 tbsp. white rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 1 lime juiced

Avocado Dip

• 3 avocados
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 lemons juiced
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 3/4 c. Greek yogurt

Salad

• 1 c. vermicelli salad
• 4 oz. salmon baked
• 1/3 c. avocado dip
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Instructions

 

Bake Salmon

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place salmon skin-side down on a griddle or baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and add a dash of salt and pepper. Slice a lemon and place evenly on top of the salmon.
• Bake salmon for 12-15 minutes, or until the salmon begins to flake. Salmon tends to be cooked when it loses the bright color and you can take a fork and it easily separates. Larger cuts of salmon may take upwards of 20 minutes. Smaller, individual portions may take less time. It's best to begin checking after 10 minutes of cooking and adjust the cooking time to the doneness of your filet.

Vermicelli Salad

• Add about 4 inches of water to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Cook vermicelli according to the manufacturer's instructions.

  Vermicelli cooks very quickly. I tend to add the vermicelli and then immediately remove it from heat. Then, go on to prepare the produce. Merely sitting in the once boiling water is sufficient enough soften it enough to eat without overcooking.
• Mince and chop all of the produce and add to a large bowl.
• It can help to mix the tamari, rice vinegar, tahini, and lime together in a separate bowl and then mix in. Although this isn't explicitly necessary as long as the tahini doesn't clump together.
• I have also started adding the chopped avocado in afterwards, to keep it from breaking down too much while mixing in the other ingredients. This isn't entirely necessary, though.

Avocado Dip

• Add all of the avocado dip ingredients to a food processor. Process for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides occasionally.

Assemble Salad

• Place vermicelli on a plate and add salmon, avocado dip, and a dash of salt and pepper.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For more information on baking salmon, check out my articles on The Fundamentals of Oven Baked Salmon and Barbecue Salmon. I'm particularly fond of cooking on a well-seasoned cast iron griddle because you don't need additional oil or foil to to keep it from sticking. But there are certainly ways around this if you don't want to dedicate an entire cast iron pan to fish! Cooking salmon is also more of an art than a science. No two filets are going to cook in the exact same amount of time and there are definitely some tips and tricks to nailing the cook on fish.
• For a more in-depth article and tips and tricks on avocado dip, I have a distinct recipe for Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt, Tahini, & Lemon as well as a slightly easier and doubled recipe for Potluck Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Walnuts