Salmon Niçoise Salad

What is your favorite way to eat leafy greens? They're such a beautiful canvas for an endless combination of flavors and preparations. This Salmon Niçoise Salad is one of my favorites.

There's something about a colorful salad that just makes me happy. The rainbow of colors, variety of textures, and all of the possibilities of ingredients lends itself to a perfect dish.

The Crunch Factor

Salmon Niçoise Salad is one of my absolute favorite dishes. I love that I can use ingredients I already have on hand and make it for an easy lunch or dress it up with a beautiful piece of salmon such as in this version.

Growing up, my mom put a salad on the table every night. I have continued that tradition by introducing leafy greens to my own children. Whether they're wilted into soups or served up in a vibrant display of color like this salad, I feel good knowing I am encouraging them to love greens as much as I do.

The base of all amazing salads starts with picking the right greens. Fresh Express makes it easy with their large variety of greens and chopped salads, as well as the way they are packaged. Not only are they already washed and chopped, the Keep-Crisp bag ensures that just picked crunch and freshness without any preservatives.

Fresh Express is the leader in the bagged salad category of produce. In 1989, they were the ones to introduce this concept to the market. With over 40 million pounds of salad sold monthly, they're the brand I reach for when I'm shopping.

For this recipe I am using Fresh Express Leafy Green Romaine. The combination of crunchy romaine and tender green leaf lettuce makes and ideal base for all of the toppings.

Layers of Flavor

A classic Niçoise Salad combines tuna, potatoes, green beans, and olives with a light bright vinaigrette. I am putting my own twist on it by using roasted salmon. The additional of seasonal ingredients like blood oranges and fennel adds a burst of both sunny freshness and color.

This salad not only is completely customizable, it's also a dish that lends itself to meal prep. The green beans, potatoes, and soft boiled eggs can all be prepared ahead of time. When you're ready to eat all you have to do is assemble.

While I roasted the salmon specifically for this salad, this dish is an ideal vehicle for leftovers. Whether its leftover salmon, chicken, or even steak, you can use the base ingredients and add your favorite protein. You can also keep this simple but just adding the soft boiled eggs as your protein. Packed with fresh flavors, rich with nutrients, this salad is sure to become one of your favorites.

Lettuce Talk about Salmon Niçoise Salad

Salads are all about having fun and building your layers of flavor. Let's break down the components.

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

• Season your salmon with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes. You can also skip this step and use leftover salmon.

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add your green beans and let them cook for 5 minutes. They will turn bright green. Immeadiatly remove them from the boiling water and add them to a bowl of is water. This process is called blancing.

• Add your potatoes to the same pot of boiling water. Allow them to cook until they are fork tender. Let them drain.

• For your soft boiled eggs, allow them to boil for 7-8 minutes.

• The green beans, potatoes, and eggs can all be cooked ahead of time.

• Add all of your vinaigrette ingredients to a mason jar and shake vigorously.

• To assemble your salad lay a bed of Fresh Express Leafy Green Romaine down. Add your salmon. Add your potatoes, green beans, olives, and eggs. Arrange your sliced blood oranges and fennel.

• Dress with your salad dressing and enjoy!

Are you looking for more ways to use greens? Make sure you check out my recipe for Orange-Pomegranate Winter Salad.