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Alaska Salmon Niçoise Salad Courtesy of The Fishes & Dishes Cookbook

Similar to a traditional Niçoise salad, in this dish good-quality smoked salmon sits side by side with steamed green beans, new potatoes, capers, tomatoes and eggs to create a tasty, filling dish. If Niçoise olives are unavailable, you can substitute Kalamata olives.

9 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed of strings
1 pound small red potatoes
1 small head Bibb or butter lettuce
4 tablespoons capers
1 cup Niçoise olives
2 large tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each
10 to 12 ounces good-quality smoked salmon
4 hard-boiled eggs, halved

Lemon Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
Pinch sugar
Pinch sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Steam the green beans until tender, then rinse well under cold water and drain.

Boil the potatoes until done, and cool down in cold water.

Drain and quarter the potatoes.

Place several lettuce leaves on each plate. Place a mound of potatoes in the middle of each plate. Surround with separate piles of beans, capers, olives, tomatoes and smoked salmon. Nestle two egg halves on opposite sides of the plate.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the lemon juice, shallots, Dijon mustard and sugar in a medium, high-sided bowl.

Whisk in the salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking vigorously to emulsify.

Drizzle each salad with the Lemon Vinaigrette

From The Fishes & Dishes Cookbook: Seafood Recipes and Salty Stories from Alaska’s Commercial Fisherwomen (Epicenter Press, 144 pages, $19.95) www.epicenterpress.com.

While commercial fishing out on the Bering Sea, sisters Kiyo and Tomi Marsh came up with the idea of writing a cookbook that would combine seafood recipes with personal stories of fisherwomen who work the Alaskan waters. Friend and former fisherwoman Laura Cooper joined the project, and in May The Fishes & Dishes Cookbook went on sale. It includes 80 recipes, stories of fisherwomen in America’s most dangerous industry, tips for cleaning and preparing fish, recommendations for wine pairings, an introduction to fishing methods and terminology and much, much more.

©Copyright 2010, Caliope Publishing Company