Today we are off to Hawaii!!
I can’t wait to get my toes in the sand! The hubby and I have some fun things planned for our trip that I’m excited to share with you along the way! I’ll be doing travel posts intermittently for the next couple weeks and there will be lots of yummy food to see!
Today I’m posting a recipe for a salad that might seem intricate but is actually incredibly easy to toss together! I include this recipe in client meal plans often as it’s not the most common salad and brings a little flair! The combination of savoury roasted potatoes, delicate and tasty lox, salty olives, perfectly boiled eggs, and crunchy green beans over a bed of massaged kale (more on that in a bit) is nothing less than perfection!
The salad truly feels gourmet but is simple enough for the most novice kitchen dwellers. Also, no big surprise, it provides a great balance of nutrients – complex carbohydrates, fibre, healthy fats and protein all come together to make this salad blow other dinky little salads that leave you feeling hungry out of the water!
I first tried a Nicoise salad years ago at a restaurant and was somewhat skeptical – eggs, salmon, potatoes.. in a salad?? Yep. Odd. But oh so good together. Like PB & J…. almost.
I don’t eat salmon lox a ton (it’s a cured salmon) as it isn’t the easiest to find here in Alberta and it can be on the pricey side, but I definitely consider it a treat as I LOVE the taste! I love salmon in general, full of all its healthy fats and protein, and the curing process just amps up the flavour even more!
As for eggs – well I eat them every single day so throw them in a salad and I’m game. Eggs are a perfect way to sneak in a little extra protein and some healthy omega fats!
As for the green beans, blanching them is a must in order to add a little crunch to all the textures already going on! Blanching is a technique used to seal in the flavour, nutrients and colour of vegetables during cooking – you simply submerge the veggies into boiling water for a minute or so then under cold running water or put them in an ice bath!
Now, for the massaged kale, this sounds weird I know. Massaged? Well, it’s actually exactly what it sounds like; giving the kale a little TLC by massaging it with your hands to soften it. Kale can be rather bitter and dense, so by massaging the kale it becomes more suitable of a texture to have as the base of a salad and takes away the bitter bite. You can check out a video here of exactly how to do this!
Well… I’m off, time to catch a flight and go spend some time in Hawaiian paradise! Stay tuned for some yummy travel posts coming your way!
- 2 bunches red kale, washed, chopped and massaged with ½ tsp sea salt for 1-2 minutes
- 5 ounces salmon lox (or smoked salmon or gravlax)
- 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
- 1 cup green beans, cut and trimmed - blanched by plunging into boiling water for 1 minute then removing and running under cold water for 1-2 minutes.
- ½ cup olives (I use castella olives)
- 1 cup baby potatoes, roasted - pre-roast before making the salad at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (I usually just use leftover roasted potatoes for my nicoise salad)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinaigrette of choice (prepared or homemade)
- Blanch the beans, set aside.
- Prepare the kale, and add to a large bowl.
- Layer with the roasted potatoes, lox, sliced egg, olives, green beans and roasted potatoes.
- Drizzle with the dressing.
- Enjoy!
Christal
Nutritionist in the Kitch
As silly as it may sound, I’ve struggled with getting a “perfectly” boiled egg for years… so how do you do it?
My hubby seems to have perfected it. Boil water, add eggs (2-4), boil for 9 minutes, then immediately run under cold water. This may vary according to where you live in relation to sea level (I know that’s weird but it makes a difference!) lol!
Looks great! I would not put on the salmon and eggs, but instead add some tofu bites or soyrizo.
That would be a great vegan substitution!