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.
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