I love berbere spice, the warm spice blend that includes chile peppers, paprika, fenugreek, ginger, cumin, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, but you can use a blackened spice blend, ras el hanout, or even a curry.
Ingredients
Salmon Niçoise Salad
- Berbere spice
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (8 ounce) filets Norwegian salmon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed, blanched and cooled (make sure it is still crunchy)
- 2 cups cooked, cubed purple yams
- 2 cups cooked, cubed orange sweet potatoes
- 2 medium bulbs fennel, sliced and sautéed until tender
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup niçoise olives
- 4 hardboiled eggs, peeled and halved
Yassa Vinaigrette
- 2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions, thinly sliced, and caramelized
2 to 3 cloves confit garlic
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 to 3 thin slices fresh ginger
- Agave or honey, optional
Method
To Cook the Salmon
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
- Season the fish with with the bebere spice. Add salt and pepper if your berbere spice does not already have them in it. Heat the oil in a medium ovenproof sauté pan over high heat. Add the salmon, skin side down and cook until the skin is crispy, about 4 minutes. Flip the fillets and continue to cook in the oven until desired doneness, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest.
To Make the Yassa Vinaigrette
- In a large mortar and pestle (you can also make this in a blender), pound the caramelized onions, add the garlic, lemon juice and ginger and continue to smash to a rough paste. It’s okay if there are some larger pieces of onion remaining. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and whisk in the oil, if the dressing is a little thick add enough water to make a pourable consistency. Season with salt and pepper. If you prefer a sweeter dressing, add a little agave or honey to taste.
To Assemble the Salad
- Arrange the asparagus in the middle of a large platter. Pile the sweet potatoes at each end of the platter. Add the fennel, tomatoes, and olives in more piles, then add the eggs. Spoon over the dressing. Set the spiced salmon filets on top of the asparagus. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
To cook the asparagus, choose a saucepan or small pot that will allow the asparagus to have some movement (not fit too snuggly). Fill with salted water and bring to a boil. Add the trimmed asparagus and cook until tender, but not too soft, about 5 minutes.
Niçoise Salad is a French classic, but I like to give it my spin. Depending on the time of year and my mood, I make substitutions. For this spring variation I like berbere-spiced, pan-seared salmon on top of a bountiful platter of asparagus, fennel, and sweet potatoes, but you can use the more traditional tuna (or another protein), green beans, and white or yellow potatoes. My Senegalese yassa vinaigrette will definitely give this the Mawa touch.