Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound asparagus
- 1 1/2 pound skinless salmon filet
- 1 pound scallion
- 1 tablespoon tarragon
Preparation
Baking Directions:
Preparation: Grate zest from lemon.
Squeeze juice from lemon; you should have 1-1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Snap woody ends from asparagus.
Cut spears into 1-1/2-inch lengths.
Thinly slice white and green parts of scallion.
Whisk lemon zest and juice with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl.
Gradually whisk in oil; set the vinaigrette aside.
Fill large skillet half full with lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Arrange asparagus in a single layer in skillet and cover.
Reduce heat to medium and cook asparagus until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus.
Using a slotted spatula, transfer asparagus to colander.
Add salmon to water and reduce heat to medium-low.
Simmer until salmon is just opaque when flaked with tip of a knife, about 10 minutes.
Using slotted spatula, transfer salmon to bowl with vinaigrette.
Using a fork, break salmon into bite-sized pieces.
Add asparagus, scallion, and tarragon, and mix gently to combine.
Season with salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
Serve warm.
Variation: Instead of the asparagus, use 6 ounces sugar snap peas for the asparagus.
They will only take 2 or 3 minutes to cook to crisp-tender.
Substitute fresh dill for the tarragon.
Simple tip: Don't forget to grate the zest from citrus (in this case, the lemon) before squeezing the juice.
Actually, with the new very fine zesters on the market, forgetting to do so isn't the disaster it used to be.
Regardless, when writing a recipe, I always put the lemon zest before the lemon juice, just as a helpful reminder.
Dress it up: Top each serving with crisply cooked crumbled bacon.
Use a combination of 1 teaspoon each finely chopped fresh tarragon, parsley and chives instead of just tarragon.
If you would like to serve the salad on greens, they should be also dressed with lemon vinaigrette.
Make a double batch of the lemon dressing; pour half of the dressing into another medium bowl.
Add 4 cups mixed greens, such as mesclun, and toss well.
Serve equal amounts of the greens in bowls, and divide the salmon salad among the bowls.
