Salmon Niçoise Salad, the Best Recipe Gets a California Treatment

Salmon Niçoise Salad is a California twist on the Mediterranean classic Tuna Niçoise. With omega-3 rich salmon in place of tuna, plant-based fats from avocados and olives, and nutrient-dense sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes, it's impossibly healthier than the original! Even better, Salmon Niçoise Salad easily prepped in advance so it works for a week's worth of casual weeknight meals or a weekend dinner! Shall we?

Californiçoise knows how to party... on a platter.

What is Niçoise Salad | Ingredients You Need | Best Salmon | Ingredients Substitutions | Niçoise Salad Variations | Best Kind of Salmon | Tools and Equipment | Best Wine Pairing | RECIPE

What Even is Niçoise?

"Niçoise Salad," is a fancy half-French way of saying "salad from the region of Nice, France" and specifically refer to what is essentially a tuna salad. The dish hails from France and specifically from the city of Nice, sounds like "niece," located on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

I've always known Niçoise to famously showcase the nutrient-packed ingredients of the Mediterranean: tuna, eggs, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, and olives. And in general, those components are undisputed.

In general. Like many classic recipes, Niçoise salad has an unclear origin and many, sometimes aggressive, opinions about what constitutes an authentic version of this composed salad. Some Niçoise purists argue that green beans and potatoes, because they are cooked, should not be included with a Niçoise salad. Other authorities claim a true Niçoise would feature either anchovies or tuna, but not both. Does the salad actually have any lettuce at all? That too is not totally clear.

One thing that is certain is that no matter how Salade Niçoise is made, it's always fast, fresh, and full of bright, colorful, health-promoting vegetables.

What Ingredients You Need to Make Salmon Niçoise Salad

Grab these ingredients, all of which you either have in your pantry already, or are pretty easy to find:

Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:

• cooked salmon, 8 ounces
• Gem lettuce
• parsley and chives
• tomatoes
• sugar snap peas
• sweet potatoes
• eggs

Pantry ingredients:

• anchovy filets
• olives

Simple Lemon Vinaigrette:

• garlic, 1 clove
• lemons, 2 whole for zest and juice
• olive oil, ¼ cup
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Best Kind of Salmon for Niçoise Salad?

First Choice: Wild King Salmon

Wild king salmon has historically been my favorite salmon for ANY recipe, and is generally in season May-September. King salmon is richer in texture but slightly lighter in flavor than other varieties of salmon like coho and sockeye. In Los Angeles, I get my seafood from Santa Monica Seafood.

Great Alternative: Wild Sockeye Salmon

If wild king salmon is not available, try sockeye salmon, which is becoming the new house favorite. Sockeye has a more robust color and flavor than king salmon. It is also leaner than other varieties of salmon, which is great because poaching has a lot of liquid for it to swim in. Sockeye salmon is a smaller fish, so the fillets will be thinner, which means it cooks faster too, making it even better.

You can substitute almost any other fish for salmon, like cod, a firm, flaky white fleshed fish, and even thin delicate fish like petrale sole. Simply adjust the cooking time on the fish to account for thinner fillets.

Can I Use Canned Salmon?

Canned salmon is an AWESOME choice to make Salmon Niçoise fast, easy, more affordable, and scaled down for 1 or 2. Like fresh salmon, there are still a lot of choices when it comes to which one to buy. Look for wild sockeye canned salmon.

I almost always use this brand of canned wild sockeye salmon that is available in most grocery stores and is one of the trusted brands I use for all canned fish. On the rare occasion I win the megamillions, I will spring for a smoked wild king from boutique fishers like this that has some of the most insanely delicious preserved fish I've ever tasted.

What are the Best Anchovies for Niçoise Salad?

Best anchovies for Niçoise salad? Those flat 2- to 3-ounce cans of anchovies are fine when used as salty seasoning or an umami flavor booster, i.e. blended into a dressing or melted into a sauce. However, when the anchovy will be served whole, look for a high quality product, usually packed in jars. This is my go-to brand of anchovies, once only found in specialty and gourmet food stores. They are now available at Whole Foods.

Additional Ingredients Notes, Resources

Pickled peppers, olives, and capers/caperberries from the somewhat over-priced olive bar at Whole Foods Market at 3rd and Fairfax, which has the widest selection with things like marinated feta, preserved lemons, and whole artichokes. I love it all and could probably eat for a week off it, except I'd die from sodium overdose.

I use Anchovy Vinaigrette any chance I get. However, if anchovy is too strong for you, then what the hell are you doing making this salad based on FISH anyway? Ok, but a basic white wine, red wine, or Champagne vinaigrette, or even a lemony-slash-roasted-garlic vinaigrette would be ok, too.

All fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find it at the farmers' market.

Ingredients Substitutions for Salmon Niçoise Salad

While we are following a recipe, we are absolutely open to making modifications inspired by what's fresh at farmers' markets. Mostly, we're just trying not to turn on the stove so we're replacing some of the work of cooked ingredients like the green beans and potatoes with fast, fresh ones.

• Romaine lettuce, which has a more satisfying crunch than soft, tender Boston lettuce
• fresh sugar snap peas instead of cooked green beans
• fresh radishes instead of boiled potatoes
• garlic added to the vinaigrette

Think of Salade Niçoise as a template and then let the season and your senses fill in the details. Some other ingredients we substitute or add to the bowl when the spirit moves us are:

• arugula and frisee as the salad "greens"
• artichokes
• beets, fresh sliced, or roasted and served along with the potatoes
• cucumbers
• fennel, shaved super thin if fresh, or roasted
• red onions, sliced razor-thin sliced
• avocado because we're in California!
• capers to add even more salty umami with the olives

Best Niçoise Salad Variations You Must Try

Salade Niçoise isn't the only dish that's associated with the French side of the Mediterranean, but it's the one that I make most often here, with variations based on whatever is in season at the time. Try these variations:

• Classic Salade Niçoise - the original version with tuna, based on Julia Child's recipe
• Tofu Niçoise Salad - replacing tuna with roasted tofu. To make a fully plant-based vegan version of this salad, skip the anchovies, and use a vegan "fish sauce" or soy sauce for the marinade
• Tuna Niçoise Quinoa Salad - all the good things from a Nicoise salad, chopped up and tossed with quinoa to make a solid weekday meal in a bowl.

Tools and Equipment

These are a few tools you may need to make Salade Niçoise, though I am of the unwavering belief that you absolutely can get by in the kitchen with no tools other than a dead sharp knife and a stable cutting board.

• wooden bowl for salad, pictured
• chef's knife I use every single day
• cutting board that is probably the only "tool" I leave out permanently on the counter
• salad spinner - I absolutely cannot live without this. I haaaaate wet drippy greens.
• fruit and vegetable wash
• mini whisk for dressing
• mini blender for dressing (if you want to emulsify it to make it creamy)

Best Main Dish Salads

In case it wasn't obvious, big, bright colorful salads feature prominently as main dishes in The Delicious Life. Here are a few that get a lot of love:

• Niçoise Salad with Salmon!
• Lobster Avocado Cobb Salad
• Salmon Cobb Salad
• Chinese Chicken Salad
• Tropical Cobb Salad
• Soba Noodle Salad, add salmon or roasted tofu to make it a meal

Print Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Salmon Niçoise Salad Recipe

Makes one giant salad to serve 4-6 people

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: anti-inflammatory, salmon

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

Ingredients for Lemon Herb Roasted Salmon:

• 1 1½ pound side of wild King salmon about 1½-2 pounds, skin-on
• 1 whole bulb of garlic sliced in half around the middle (like the equator around the middle of the planet)
• 2 lemons thinly sliced
• handful of fresh herb sprigs I chose oregano, savory, rosemary, and thyme
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Ingredients for Salad:

• 4 eggs
• 2 sweet potatoes or regular potatoes, you choose, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 handfuls of green beans
• 1 cup pickled peppers
• 1 cup olives
• ½ cup capers or caperberries
• 4-6 cups greens arugula, butter lettuce, frisee, romaine, or any combination
• heirloom tomatoes sliced into wedges or rounds
• cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• radishes quartered
• 2 avocados sliced into wedges
• Meyer lemon wedges
• The World's Greatest Anchovy Vinaigrette https://www.thedeliciouslife.com/tri-colore-salad-with-anchovy-vinaigrette-pizzeria-mozza-recipe/
• fresh flat-leaf parsley for freshy fresh flavor at the end

Instructions

Roast the Salmon:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a large baking sheet that will hold the salmon. The parchment paper will make it easier to lift the salmon in one piece from the baking sheet to the board. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the parchment paper.
• Place the salmon skin side down on the parchment paper. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Arrange lemon slices and garlic bulb halves around the salmon. Drizzle the salmon, lemons, and especially the garlic halves with more oil. Place herb sprigs on top, pressing into the salmon to coat the sprigs with a little bit of the oil.
• Roast the salmon until it is BARELY cooked through — when you poke the center of the fillet with the tip of a sharp, narrow knife and twist it, it is just opaque. Because thickness of salmon filet will determine cooking time, check the salmon with a knife after 10 minutes, then every few minutes until it's done.
• Remove salmon from oven, and set aside to cool.

Cook Vegetables for Salad:

• Fill a pot large enough to hold the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. The pot is too big for the eggs, but will save you from having to unnecessarily use extra pots and pans. Using a ladle, lower eggs into the boiling water one or two at a time, turn down heat to simmer, and cook eggs for 7 minutes. Remove eggs from simmering water with a slotted spoon, i.e. keep the water in the pot, and drop them into an ice-water bath. Turn the heat back up to bring the water back to a boil. When they become cool enough to handle, peel the eggs, and slice them into either halves or quarters.
• Place the potatoes in the boiling water. Turn down the heat and simmer the potatoes until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Place green beans in the bottom of a large colander. Drain the hot water from the potatoes over the green beans, then gently pour the potatoes into the colander, too. Pour the green beans and potatoes into a large bowl and drizzle with a little bit of vinaigrette.
• Whole, peeled cooked eggs, greens beans, and potatoes can be cooked a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator overnight. Simply take them out of the fridge an hour or so before to take the chill off. The cooked vegetables need to be neither piping hot nor chilled for this dish.

Assemble the Salad:

• Using the parchment paper, lift and transfer the entire salmon fillet from the baking sheet to the serving platter or board. If the salmon flakes apart, don't worry, you can cover up any and all flaws with a shower of fresh herbs at the end. Once the salmon is on the board, cut away the excess parchment paper; you can leave whatever is under the salmon.
• Arrange the cooked eggs, potatoes, green beans, pickled peppers, olives, capers or caperberries, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, and lemon wedges around the salmon on the board. If there is space on the board, add handfuls of greens that have been very lightly dressed with the vinaigrette. (Otherwise, you can serve the greens from a separate bowl.) Drizzle the entire board with the vinaigrette. Hit everything with black pepper and chopped fresh herbs including parsley.
• Serve with additional vinaigrette, awesome bread and soft salty butter, and bottles of rosé. Everyone gets to dive in and make a plate for themselves.

when you make this recipe, let us know!Mention @TheDelicious or tag #thedeliciousmademedoit!

I didn't get through my entire list of 93 Things to Eat, Drink, and Do This Summer yet, but despite the mark of Labor Day weekend as the unofficial crossover into Fall, rumours of PSLs (I refuse to actually acknowledge them by spelling out "p-u-m-p-k-i-n-s-p-i-c-e-l-a-t-t-e" until October), and lamentations about "the end," there are indeed fifteen days, OVER TWO WEEKS, of summer left.So I am out here lounging on a deck overlooking the Pacific, still dressed in my summer whites, still sipping on rosé, and still partying like it's July 1999.

And of course, still working through my Summer List, which includes a Nicoise Salad because nothing feels like Endless Summer than a bright, colorful salad of summer-farmstand-fresh vegetables, inspired by the south of France.

^{Recipe and post originally sponsored by Le Creuset a long time ago, but updated with new information!}