Smoked Salmon Potato Salad With Hearts of Palm

This elegant little smoked salmon potato salad doesn’t look like it was thrown together from the store cupboard but it came about after foraging in my kitchen for a light lunch option.

It would make an excellent party platter or a good picnic or lunchbox dish; the pink slivers of radish and green fronds of dill look pretty against the creamy yellow potatoes and pale curls of smoked salmon. And there’s a slightly unusual store cupboard ingredient: canned hearts of palm.

Why You’ll Love This Smoked Salmon Potato Salad

If you follow my tip – discussed further down – to have smoked salmon to hand from the freezer, this recipe uses mainly store cupboard ingredients (radishes keep well for several weeks in the fridge). Here are a few other reasons to love it:

• Warm or cold, potato salads are perfect make-ahead dishes for spring and summer.
• You can serve this as a light meal by itself, or make a big platter for a crowd.
• This dish is fast to prepare – you can prep the other ingredients while the potatoes boil.

The Perfect Balance of Texture and Flavour

A good salad balances soft and crunchy ingredients; this smoked salmon potato salad ticks all the boxes:

• Potatoes and hearts of palm are both soft and neutrally flavoured;
• Mayonnaise and smoked salmon each have rich oilliness;
• Fresh radish slices for mustardy heat and crunch;
• Delicate dill herb garnish.

Using Canned Hearts of Palm

Canned hearts of palm aren’t the most obvious vegetable purchase, and you may have wondered how to serve them. You’ll find them in the grocery aisle near more obscure tinned vegetables, like artichokes and canned ratatouille.

The creamy spears have a neutral flavour, soft texture and high water content – think fatter, white asparagus – and they’re useful to ramp up the vegetable ratio in a dish without dominating the overall result. They’d make a good replacement for bamboo shoots if sliced lengthways.

However, they have potential beyond being a supporting ingredient. Their texture is reminiscent of baked leek but not fibrous; you could fry the coin shaped pieces like scallops. I’ve seen them used as vegan white fish alternative. They warrant further experimentation!

If you don’t have any to hand, you can use extra potato instead – but they do add extra interest and are worth trying.

Smoked Salmon – From The Freezer

I often keep slim 100g packs of smoked salmon in my freezer. They defrost in under an hour, meaning you have smoked salmon pretty much whenever you fancy it without hurrying to use after purchase.

I use defrosted smoked salmon in pieces within recipes, rather than serving as whole slices. That way you need not worry so much about presentation being affected by the freezing process.

So whenever I spot a reduced pack of fresh smoked salmon in the supermarket, into my freezer it goes!

Charlotte Potatoes – Perfect For Potato Salad

I chose Charlotte potatoes as these are readily available in most supermarkets. I love the bright yellow potato flesh and golden skins. Charlotte potato skins are thin and do not need to be peeled – upping the fibre content of this dish.

Boiling the potatoes is longest task in this recipe; start boiling them first then everything else happens whilst they cook. This is why I put a five minute prep time for this recipe, the rest of the prep is happening whilst the potatoes are cooking. If you serve with the potatoes still warm, it can be ready in around twenty minutes.

Dressings For Potato Salad

To dress my smoked salmon potato salad, I used the dill and rapeseed mayonnaise from my previous post, although you could use plain mayonnaise or bottled salad cream (of which I am a fan). Dill pairs especially well with the fish; and the bright yellow colour complements the golden potatoes.

Variations On Smoked Salmon Potato Salad

There are a number of ways to ring the changes with this smoked salmon potato salad;

• Add chopped capers or cornichons for extra sharpness;
• Swap dill mayonnaise with a plain mayo and squeeze of lemon;
• Use sliced half moons of cucumber instead of radish;
• Swap smoked salmon with curls of cured ham;
• Omit hearts of palm and use extra potato.

Assembling Smoked Salmon Potato Salad

These instructions are based on serving a warm potato salad immediately; please read the food safety and storage considerations if you are making the dish ahead of time for a party platter.

With the cooked potatoes drained, add these to a large salad bowl. Tumble in the hearts of palm, sliced radish and spoon over the mayonnaise dressing. Using salad tongs or large salad fork and spoon, lightly toss the ingredients so the potatoes are coated.

Next add the pieces of smoked salmon, toss a little more but not too much. Finally scatter over the fresh dill and any salt and pepper seasoning.

Make Ahead and Storage Tips For Smoked Potato Salad

If eating warm, you can assemble and eat this smoked salmon potato salad immediately. This is my favourite way to serve it.

If you are storing the salad, the potatoes need to be cooled before adding the other ingredients. Keep the assembled salad chilled until serving; this dish is best enjoyed when freshly made and isn’t suitable for freezing.

To make ahead, tasks you could do the day before are:

• Cooking, draining and cooling the potatoes;
• Draining and chopping the hearts of palm;
• Making the mayonnaise (if not using shop-bought).

With these things done in advance, you can assemble the rest of the salad in minutes. Leftovers should be chilled at once and eaten the next day.

You’ll find the recipe ingredients and instructions with a printable version of this smoked salmon potato salad below.

 

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Have you tried potato salads with smoked fish? Or have you experimented with hearts of palm? Let me know all about it in the comments below.