Salmon Salad with Couscous, Blue Cheese and Dried Cranberries

Seafood Salads

For June 9, 2011

Summer heat and humidity means meals have to be easy. Easy to cook, easy to serve and easy on the digestion.

Salad comes to mind and in particular, seafood salad. Fish, shellfish and succulent delicacies such as squid and octopus are light and refreshing, but they are also filling enough, even in a salad, to make a satisfying main course for dinner. The bonus is that fresh seafood is a cinch to cook, in fact, the simpler the better, so the delicate flesh and flavor won’t be overwhelmed by other ingredients or fussy preparations.

A huge variety of fresh fish come to market all summer. Peter Vorvis, an owner of New Wave Seafood on Camp Avenue in Stamford says that what’s best about summer fish is that it’s more local and therefore fresher. He says to look for more New England halibut, black cod, flounder, clams and scallops. There should also be plenty of local swordfish and yellowfin tuna. And of course, seasonal wild salmon, mackerel and bluefish will be more available too. These, plus the year-round standbys – shrimp, cod, farmed salmon, mussels and tilapia, for example, give you enough variety to make different salads several times a week and none will taste or even seem the same.

It’s easiest to grill the fish outdoors, out of the kitchen, but if you don’t have a grill, an oven broiler or grill pan will do. Fish doesn’t take long to cook so there’s minimal heat time.

Most fish pair well with every ingredient you might think to put in a salad. Halibut with cooked potatoes and green beans; tuna with golden beets and peas; shrimp with beans and corn. Use raw vegetables such as tomatoes and sliced carrots for color, avocado and jicama to provide a variety of textures, a sharp onion -- scallion, red onion or chives – to add some vitality to the milder ingredients.

Cooked vegetables work too and you can use the leftovers from last night’s dinner: kernels stripped from grilled or steamed corn on the cob, cut up cooked broccoli or asparagus.

Think about sweeter foods too: orange segments with snapper or shrimp, dried cranberries with salmon, peaches with bluefish, for example. Or add chunks of cheese: feta, blue cheese and goat cheese would work with most fish. Deli items are suitable: tangy, imported olive and sun-dried tomatoes, for example. And to add more substance and appeal for those who may think a fish salad isn’t satisfying enough, you can include cooked pasta, whole grains and potatoes.

Salad needs dressing of course. It’s tempting, especially in the summer when you don’t really feel like cooking, to open one of the bottled brands you bought at the supermarket.

Don’t.

Don’t.

Bottled dressings are convenient, but they’re also salty and often contain unwanted additives. Homemade dressings take less than 5 minutes to mix. All you need are good olive oil and a piquant wine vinegar or citrus juice. Mix them to taste (the ratio anywhere from 2:1 to 4:1 parts oil to acidic liquid, depending on your particular taste buds) and you’re done. Of course you can get creative by adding any fresh herb that might enhance the fish. Try these: dill, tarragon, thyme, mint, oregano or coriander. Or switch from olive oil to corn or canola, or mix in a little bit of almond or avocado oil for extra flavor. And use different vinegars for different salads, say use rice wine vinegar on a shrimp salad, sherry vinegar with tuna. Or add a small amount of orange juice to bring out a sweeter taste. Experiment away.

How versatile is that! Make seafood salads this summer. You’ll never be bored with dinner.