A savory salmon salad for summer

This salmon salad tastes like something that you’d get at a gourmet bagel shop, and I can’t get enough of it.

As of a few months ago, I had never eaten canned salmon. It was not something that I grew up with and, for some reason, I turned my nose up at it. I had no idea what I was missing! My husband picked up a few cans to have extra protein on hand and I kept making tuna salad instead. I am so happy that I decided to make a salmon salad one day.

This has become my go-to recipe when a friend stops over for lunch or when I need something extra to serve on Shabbat. It’s so lemony and full of flavor. I use mayonnaise, but just enough to bind the ingredients together. Lemon juice and capers are two of my favorite things to add to any kind of fish, and they add bold flavor to this simple dish.

Lemon caper salmon salad
Makes 2 or 3 servings

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Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can of salmon, drained
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons finely diced shallots
3 tablespoons chopped dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 3 tablespoons sliced almonds

This recipe is easy and takes less than 5 minutes to prepare.

Drain the water from the can of salmon and transfer it to a mixing bowl. Use the back of a fork to break up the pieces. There is often skin in canned salmon, but it disappears as you flake the fish chunks. You may see a few pin bones in the bowl. If you do, just pick those out before adding the rest of the ingredients.

If you don’t have shallots on hand, and you don’t have time to pick some up, you can use a sweeter white onion in a pinch. Add the shallots, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers and dill to the bowl and mix well.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sometimes I add in sliced almonds for a little extra crunch. You can mix these in or sprinkle them over the top of the salmon salad.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving. This allows the flavors to come together well.

This salad is really versatile. It can be served with a beautiful green salad, but it’s also amazing with a dense bread such as sprouted whole wheat. I like to toast a slice of bread and spread salmon salad over it. It’s also really nice with crackers.

You can add this to your table on Shabbat for seduah shlisheet.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.