Smoked Trout Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
About the recipe
When serving smoked fish, pairing it with rich, creamy flavors helps prevent the saltiness of the fish from becoming too aggressive. If you’ve never tried Green Goddess dressing before, the flavors could be described as “cucumber ranch.” The scallions, parsley, and cucumber add depth to a creamy dressing that unites the smoky trout and the mild potatoes. Adding the brightness and sweetness of pickled onions offers acidity to cut through the rich, savory flavors. While you can certainly smoke your own trout for this salad, you can find good-quality smoked trout in your local supermarket.
Serves: 2
Hands On Time: 1 hour and 0 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours and 0 minutes
Ingredients
Pickled Red Onion
1 red onion, sliced into half moons
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
Green Goddess dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and peeled
5 scallions, green part only, cut into large pieces
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves, whole
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Smoked Trout Salad
8 new potatoes, scrubbed
1 head Bibb lettuce, roots removed
2 filets smoked trout, torn into large pieces
6 radishes, thinly sliced
1 (0.75-ounce) package dill, picked from stems
Pickled red onion
Green Goddess dressing
Instructions
To make the pickled onion: Place the sliced onions in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, just enough to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour the liquid over the onions through a mesh strainer to remove any peppercorns and mustard seeds. Keep the onions submerged in the pickling liquid and cool for 2 hours.
To make the dressing: Place all ingredients into a blender and pureé until smooth and creamy, and the entire mixture has turned pale green. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To make the salad: In a small saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook the potatoes until fork tender, then run under cold water until completely cooled. Cut each potato into quarters. In a large bowl, combine cooked potatoes, lettuce, smoked trout, radishes, and dill. Add 1/2 cup of the dressing and gently toss until the lettuce and potato are lightly coated with dressing, adding more if desired. Divide the salad onto two places and top each salad with slices of pickled red onion. Serve immediately.