Easy Tinned Salmon Nicoise Salad
What is it about the sun coming out and spring settling in that brings out the urge to eat more healthily and eat warm or even cold foods rather than piping hot comfort food for dinner? Mind you, this is British spring we are talking about, so there are definite veg-packed fish pie, full-on-comfort-food days still.
But I feel like I suddenly want to eat a little bit more salad, and maybe a little bit less cheese. Ok, scrap that last bit, I always want to eat cheese. And lots of it.
This is a great healthy, “just pulled together from the storecupboard” kind of dinner that is satisfying and just that little bit warming while still being healthy, packed full of veg, and technically, a salad. Without any lettuce. Because that’s how all the best salads start, right?
Our food budget rarely stretches to fresh fish, so we rely a lot on tinned oily fish and frozen white fish to reach our weekly recommended intakes. Tinned sardines are a staple in our house, and smoked mackerel, frozen prawns or frozen pollock are frequently in our fridge and freezer. Although we occasionally have frozen wild salmon, I can’t say it’s a luxury we can afford often. But tinned salmon is much cheaper, and in the right dishes, once flaked in, you really don’t notice that much difference.
You can use the standard tinned or cooked fresh/frozen tuna in this recipe, of course, or even tinned sardines. I love that it is adaptable like that. But when I am lacking a dinner plan in the springtime, grabbing a tin of salmon on the way home and making use of the potatoes that are always sitting in my cupboard, the green beans we keep in the freezer and the odd jars of things in the pantry and fridge, I love that I can still pull together a healthy, hearty meal for the family in under half an hour having spent just a couple of quid.
A easy weeknight dinner, perfect for that springtime in-between weather. Healthy, filling, cheap and gluten, dairy and sugar free, this dinner is easy to adapt and even simpler to make.
- 2 large baking potatoes or 4 smaller ones, washed and roughly chopped (no need to peel)
- a couple of generous handfuls of trimmed green beans (fresh or frozen)
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- a couple of handfuls of pitted olives, halved
- 2-3 tablespoons capers
- 1 tin wild salmon
- 2-3 tomatoes or 6-8 cherry tomatoes
- 1 thinly sliced red or yellow pepper, optional
- a few chopped jarred artichoke hearts, optional
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or wholegrain mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
- a large handful of roughly chopped fresh parsley, chives or basil, optional
- sunflower or pumpkin seeds to serve, optional
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Cook the roughly chopped potatoes in boiling water in a large pan for 15-20 mins, until soft but not falling apart. Add the green beans for the last 5-10 mins.
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In a large salad bowl, mix all of the other salad ingredients together. Make the dressing by adding all of the ingredients to a lidded jar, screwing on the lid and shaking until combined. Pour over the salad, season to taste and serve straightaway sprinkled with fresh herbs and/or seeds, if using. You can also leave the salad to cool and eat cold – potatoes are actually better for your gut when they’ve been cooked and cooled as they build up resistant starch!
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