Potato Salad with a Lox Twist

Smoked Salmon with Roasted Potato Salad

Smoked Salmon with roasted potato salad

I made this salad for Easter diner at my in-laws on Good Friday. It's a lighter version of the regular mayo based salad, and I roasted the potatoes to hold some firmness. You will notice that on the picture I forgo the pickles and capers. There is a family member that can't stand pickles, and it tasted good.  You can also add radishes, fennel and tarragon to the dish for more flavor.

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds of Baby Potatoes (yellow is best)

1/4 cup of Oil (Canola or grapeseed - high temperature)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

3-4 Green Onions finely chopped

1-2 Carrot(s) finely chopped

2-3 Celery stalks, finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp. of Capers, rinsed and drained

4-5 Gherkins or very small Pickles, finely chopped

1 Package (around 200 g) of Cold Smoked Salmon - aka Lox

Dressing:

3-4 Tbsp. of Crème Fresh 

Juice of half a Lemon (and a pinch of Lemon zest)

1 heaping Tbsp. of Dried Dill or 2-3 Tbsp. of fresh

1 tea of Honey

1 tea of Bold Dijon Mustard

Salt and Pepper

Tools:  Cutting board, knife, large pot, baking pan(s), large bowl, colander, wooden spoons, small bowl, and small spoons and serving bowl.

Serves: 4-6 people as a side, 2-3 as a main meal

Time: 2 - 4 hours, potatoes can be boiled instead of roasting - but they take a long time to cool off. And best to have this salad marinate too.  Even best the day before.

Roasting the potatoes:

Take the washed potatoes and cut them in halves or quarters.  Try to make the pieces almost the same time so they can cook easily.

Add them to a pot of boiling hot and salted water and cook for 5 - 8 minutes.  Don't cook them all the way through, just enough to soften, they will cook longer in the oven.  Preheat the oven to 425.

Once the boiling time is up, strain the potatoes and place into a large bowl. Add the oil, salt and pepper and coat the potatoes. Place the potatoes on to a bake sheet. Make sure they are not on top of each other, but rather have their own part of the bake pan.

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.  Check on them at around 25 minute part to stir them.  They should be golden and crispy.  If you want them crunchier, leave them in longer.

Once roasted, remove from oven and let cool completely.

You can boil the potatoes if you want to save time, we just like to roast them once in a while so the potatoes have a crispier outside and doesn't turn mushy in the salad.  Your choice.

Making of the dressing

I prefer making the dressing as the potatoes cool, just to get the flavours a chance to settle.

Take all the ingredients listed under the dressing category and mix in a bowl.  Take a taste, if you find it too sour, add more honey.  The dressing will be a little on the runnier side than the mayo dressings people normally use for potato salads.

Putting it all together

Once the potatoes are cold, the dressing is made and the veggies are cut - add them all to the bowl and mix.  Don't put all the dressing in at once, just little by little to see if you need the whole amount or if you prefer a lighter dressed salad.  Add the smoked salmon and mix gently.

Refrigerate until serving.

Enjoy.

Even though I live in Alberta and the sea is far away, I still try to buy Canadian products - luckily there is a local supplier/food processor in Edmonton. The Smoked Salmon I used is Sgambaros.  I really like this smoked Salmon, and they make other seafood products here in Edmonton.  

I bought my package at Bon Ton Bakery, but you can also pick this item at Italian Centre and at Mother's Market.

Info from Sgambaros website:
In 2013 Sgambaro's won a Food Award for their Atlantic Cold Smoked Salmon. Presented by the Alberta Food Processors Association, Sgambaro's won in the category of "Best Value Added Specialty Meat, Poultry or Seafood Product".

Give them a try.