Salmon Nicoise Salad with Carrot and Yogurt Sauce

I was at Whole Foods in Downtown Salt Lake City last week, and guess what I saw?  A big ol’ sign announcing they had Copper River Salmon.  They had a big, beautiful fillet in the case that the guy at the counter told me it go very quickly.

I told him I already had some at home and would be getting more, but I was doing my best to find all the places I could in SLC so my friends would know where to get some for themselves.

He smiled and I smiled back.  We bonded over salmon.

Like I said with the salmon cakes, I couldn’t waste any bit of the salmon.  I like leftover salmon cold the very best,  Not that those salmon cakes weren’t delicious.  I just really like cold salmon.  It’s the Norwegian in me. :)

I didn’t have any Nicoise olives on hand, so instead I used Italian oil cured with red pepper flakes.  (From Caputo’s, in case you were wondering where to get some for yourself.)  And no hard boiled eggs…because I don’t like them.  Also, no mustardy, pungent vinaigrette.  I traded it in for a creamy, Carrot and Yogurt Sauce adapted from a recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

My next shipment of Copper River Salmon will arrive on Friday.  (Squee!)  I better get to work finding more locations to find CRS in Utah.  I did find it at WinCo too.  That makes quite a few places around Utah where you can find the gorgeous salmon.  Hurry to the nearest market or restaurant in your neighborhood  and get some before it’s gone!

Salmon Nicoise Salad with Carrot and Yogurt Sauce
original recipe with sauce adapted from this recipe, Makes 2 good-sized salads

Ingredients:

For carrot and yogurt sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons (packed) finely grated carrot (use a Microplane grater)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon finely chopped carrot top or parsley
1 Tbsp. finely chopped scallions, green and white parts
2 teaspoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

For salad:
Leftover cooked salmon
1/4 lb. or more fresh green beans, ends snapped off and blanched in salted water
1 large potato, scrubbed clean, sliced and boiled in salt water and cooled to room temperature
1-2 large tomatoes,cut into wedges
1 small head butter lettuce
Small handful for each salad oil-cured olives or brine cured olives (like Kalamata or Nicoise)

Instructions:

For carrot and yogurt sauce:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and chill until ready to serve.  (You’ll have more than you need for this one salad.)

For salad:
Arrange salad components on two plates or one larger platter.  Serve with the carrot yogurt sauce.