Salmon BLT and Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Take your foodie adventures outside with an easy-to-make, pack-up picnic meal the whole family will enjoy!
On the menu for this outdoor affair, I will be making Seared Salmon BLT’s and a Loaded Baked Potato Salad. Add fresh cut watermelon wedges and you’ll know summer has arrived!
Adding salmon to a BLT is not a new idea, and for good reason – it’s delicious! Using thin fillets, rather than center-cut, makes the sandwich easy to hold and easy to devour. The salmon goes into the pan after the bacon’s been crisped, so it picks up the meaty and smoky flavors in the rendered fat. Cutting the bacon slices in half also make for easier eating, and the avocado mayonnaise brings it all together.
Seared Salmon BLT
Serves 4
Four 6-ounce thin-cut skinless Kvarøy Arctic salmon fillets (not center-cut)
4 slices thick applewood-smoked bacon (uncooked)
8 slices whole-grain or country-style sourdough bread or 4 rustic Kaiser rolls
Extra virgin olive oil
1-2 large tomato, preferably Heirloom or beefsteak, sliced
Kosher salt, to taste
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
1/3 cup of your favorite mayonnaise
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
Leaves from 1/4 head Boston/butter lettuce OR 1 packed cup baby arugula leaves
Loaded Baked Potato Salad, recipe follows
Chilled Fresh Watermelon Wedges
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large plate with paper towels. Pat dry salmon fillets.
Cut each bacon slice crosswise in half. Place in a large skillet; cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning the slices over once, just until crisped. Transfer them to a plate to drain, leaving the rendered bacon fat in the pan, and the pan still over medium heat.
Season the salmon fillets evenly with a teaspoon of the Creole seasoning. Gently lay the fillets in the hot-oil skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes total, or until barely translucent in the center, turning them over halfway through the cooking. Remove from pan and keep warm till building sandwiches.
While salmon is cooking, brush the bread slices or halved rolls lightly with oil; toast on a sheet pan or directly on the middle oven rack, just until golden browned. Cut 4 evenly thick slices from the tomato and season them lightly with salt, letting them drain on paper towels.
In a bowl, mash together the avocado and lemon juice and zest. Stir in the mayonnaise and add Creole seasoning or kosher salt to taste.
Spread one side of all the toasted bread slices with the avocado mayonnaise. Next, build the sandwiches on four of the spread sides, using ingredients in the following order: the lettuce or arugula, the tomato slice, salmon and a crisscross of 2 bacon pieces. Top with remaining toasted bread slices or rolls, spread sides down.
Cut each sandwich in half, and serve right away with Loaded Baked Potato Salad and Chilled Watermelon wedges.
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Serves 6-8
4 pounds russet potatoes (about 6 medium), washed and patted dry
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
8 slices bacon
1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
½ cup light sour cream
½ cup of your favorite mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
3 scallions, thinly sliced
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt, place in oven and bake for 1 hour, or until done. Let cool, 10 to 15 minutes, peel if desired, and then cut into 1 inch cubes.
Cut bacon in half, lengthwise and then slice into small squares. Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels.
Combine 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, creole seasoning, and most of the scallions in a large bowl. Stir in potatoes and crumbled bacon. Garnish with remaining cheese and scallions.
Refrigerate salad before serving, 4 hours to overnight.
