Erin’s back, at your request, with a lovely, flexible, and simple main dish. Undoubtedly, her kiddoes think it is delicious as well! 😀 Thanks, Erin!
Oh the flexibility of this recipe! Makes it a bit intimidating to type it down for you. Please feel free to tweak, add, and substitute till your heart’s content. What’s fresh and growing in your garden? What did you spot at the farmer’s market? Craving a certain herb or spice? Have a few leftovers in the fridge that need to be used up? Create away! Have fun. Enjoy the colors and flavors of spring! This delicious salad compliments a plate of salad greens beautifully and tastily fills a homemade flour tortilla. It will also hold its own as a light main course.
Smoked Salmon and Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt or kefir, use a little more or less, as needed
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise homemade
- tomatoes chopped
- peas fresh if you can get them otherwise unfrozen but not cooked
- 1/2 cup green onions include some of the green
- cucumber peeled and grated, 1/2 to a whole cucumber , squeeze out juice before adding to the bowl
- hard boiled egg 3 or so chopped
- 1/4-1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or more dried, 1 tablespoon or more fresh
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- lemon juice juice of half to 1 lemon, or 2 to 3 tablespoons
- sea salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 3 cups cooked brown rice see below for rice cooking instructions
- smoked salmon however much you have available and feels good to add
Instructions
Sauce Instructions
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In a medium size bowl combine yogurt, mayo, chopped tomatoes, peas, green onions, grated and squeezed cucumbers, chopped hard boiled eggs, dill, parsley, curry, and lemon juice.
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Stir.
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Give it a taste.
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Add some salt and pepper.
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Taste again.
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Take another look through your fridge.
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Anything else you want to add? Go for it.
Salad Instructions
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Combine sauce with the flaked smoked salmon and cooked rice.
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Stir well.
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Add more yogurt/mayo if you'd like a saucier consistency.
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Try a taste.
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Adjust your seasonings.
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Top a salad. Fill a tortilla. Spoon into a bowl. Most importantly, ENJOY!
Recipe Notes
*Make your own kefir.
Rice Instructions
The night before you make this salad, soak your rice.
This would also be a great recipe to use up leftover rice.
Soak 2-1/2 cups of brown rice in 5 cups of warm water and 5 tablespoons of whey for at least 7 hours.
Drain off the liquid and combine the rice, 4-1/2 cups of water, and a couple pinches of salt in a large sauce pan.
Bring to a boil.
Turn down heat.
Cover.
Allow to simmer for about 40 minutes.
Check toward the end of cooking time to see if all the liquid has been absorbed.
If so, fluff with fork, and allow to cool uncovered.
This post was featured in 33 Nourishing Main Dish Salads.
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This looks like something we would absolutely love! We have everything except the eggs. We’ve green onions ALL over our yard, as they grown wild here. Can’t wait to make it. 😀
Thanks Robin. 🙂 I think it would be equally delicious with leftover roasted chicken or turkey. We, however, happen to be blessed with an abundance of salmon up here in AK! It’s also an easy recipe for using up what we have hanging around in our fridges, and that’s always nice!
Erin, you’re so blessed to live in Alaska for the fish! I am going to make your salad this weekend for company, but using quinoa (I’m out of rice).
What a great summer-y food, too! I could see this going over well at picnics and potlucks! Thanks for sharing, Erin!
Thanks Diana, It is a great dish for picnics and potlucks! And it’s a perfect place to use in- season summer produce! Tasty, light, and colorful! 🙂
Yum! What a great idea for a salad. I am trying to incorporate more salmon in our diets, and nice to see the kids liking it!
Thank you Lynsey! I’m sure fresh cooked salmon would also work nicely in the salad. You may need to up the herbs/spices a bit since you wouldn’t be getting that nice smoked flavor. Let me know if you give it a try!
This looks yummy! I am doing a grain free / dairy free diet at the moment for my daughter who has colitis. Does anyone have ideas how I can tweak this recipe? I am not very good at that yet!!
Thanks,
Jaylene
quick question for Wardee… if you sprout a grain like rice or wheat berries, is it still considered a grain? if no, then…
Hi Jaylene- I’m thinking about some options for you… To do this salad without the grain and dairy will make it a completely different salad, but… if you tossed your salmon and vegetables of choice along with a favorite mild vinaigrette and added sprouted/steamed/cooled wheat berries or rice (is there rice available that can be
sprouted?) or sprouted (or not)/steamed/cooled lentils or mung beans (?), you might get a nice salad. The addition of the rice (cooked al dente) in this salad adds nice texture and, I also like how it absorbs some of the dressing. Good luck! 🙂
Erin – I still consider it a grain, but it has been simplified into simple sugars, like a vegetable. I don’t think it would work as grain-free.
Jaylene – Hmm… thinking… How about upping the veggies, adding more of them (corn/peas/bell peppers/cucumber/shredded carrot), making it into more of a slaw, and tossing it all in the mayo dressing?
Erin – Wonderful! I made this last weekend (later than I planned) and we loved it. I do wish I’d had smoked salmon; that would have been even more wonderful! Oh, and I wish I had peas, too! 😉 I “made do” with chopped crispy nuts, leeks, wild salmon, and olives for the add-ins. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Erin, I am still waiting for a sourdough pizza crust recipe plus wondered if you have a good sourdough bagel recipe. I was thinking about sourdough bagels with real strawberry cream cheese for breakfast. We have been making the sourdough english muffins and enjoying them. Blessings. Karen
Karen, thanks for the reminder! You are so sweet. 🙂 I’ll try to find you a bagel recipe, too. Great idea! So glad you are enjoying the english muffins. i’m going to start some soaking today.
Wardee- So very happy you enjoyed the salad! The peas do add nice color and a deliciously sweet crunch. And thank you to you for letting me share my recipe! 🙂
Smoked salmon is one of my favorite ingredients, but I have never thought to use it in a salad like this.
Family Fresh Cooking and I would love if you linked up this recipe & any 2 other entrees in this weeks Get Grillin’ event posted on both of our blogs. We have a fabulous Ile De France Cheese giveaway. You just need to link up on one site. http://bit.ly/jjM7Qg
Stay close to the vine and bear good fruit!
Oh my goodness! I had leftover smoked salmon from making crepes and leftover brown rice, did a search and there it was. Didn’t have the curry (not a fan) but mixed together, tasted and added capers! Did I already say oh my goodness?! Delicious, quick, simple and used up some food hanging out in my frig/freezer. Would have never thought of this mix but it works, very well! Thank you and keep those ideas flowing!