The World's Best Salmon Salad!

I plan on eating this one all summer!  It's a bit like a Salade Nicoise, but of course with salmon.

The trick to this salad recipe is getting the salmon just right; grilled when possible, and definitely not overdone.  If anything, I buy really good quality fish and oftentimes err on the side of underdone, but of course, please be super careful and don't serve it raw.  The salmon should be grilled with only a bit of salt and pepper, and should be served as warm chunks on the salad, not as a piping-hot slab.

The salad itself is fairly straight-forward.  The leaves are rocket, spinach, and other baby greens, and I really don't recommend using iceberg or other bland lettuce; you will need the sharpness of the leaves to contrast with the other ingredients.  To make the salad you will need to mix in grilled asparagus, barely-boiled green beans, diced tomatoes, green and black olives, boiled and quartered new potatoes, and wedges of cucumber.  You could also add a hard-boiled egg to the salad, if you eat eggs.

The dressing is very simple: cut up one shallot and mix into a small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then toss the salad in the dressing, add the salmon on top, and voilà!  A simple and stunning salmon salad.  Serve with warm garlic breadsticks to really put the "yum" in "yummy"!