Smoked Salmon Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

Mixed greens, radicchio, pea shoots and cherry tomatoes topped with rosettes of smoked salmon and thin lemon slices, served with a creamy roasted sesame dressing. Serves 4.

Smoked salmon rosettes with lemon slices, mixed greens and cherry tomatoes in a picnic box
  • Prep 20 min
  • Total 20 min
  • Yield 4 servings

Jump to: Ingredients | Instructions | Tips | Questions | Print recipe

Creamy roasted sesame dressing is a fixture of Korean cafes and lunch boxes, poured over crisp salads of every kind. Freshly toasted and ground sesame seeds give it a nutty depth that bottled dressings cannot match, and it is wonderful with the rich, smoky salmon here.

This salad packs well for a picnic: arrange it in a box or on a platter and bring the dressing on the side so the greens stay crisp until serving.

Ingredients

Creamy sesame dressing

  • 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons water

Salad

  • 6 cups mixed salad greens, including some radicchio
  • 1 cup pea shoots or microgreens
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 8 ounces thinly sliced cold-smoked salmon
  • 1 lemon, very thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Grind the sesame. Grind the toasted sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until most are powdery, leaving a few whole.
  2. Make the dressing. Whisk the ground sesame with the mayonnaise, rice vinegar, lemon juice, honey, soy sauce and sesame oil. Thin with water until it is pourable but still creamy.
  3. Build the salad. Spread the greens, pea shoots and tomatoes on a large platter or in a shallow container.
  4. Shape the salmon. Roll each slice of salmon loosely from one short end and fold back the top edge to make a rosette. Set the rosettes over the greens and tuck lemon slices in between.
  5. Serve. Serve the dressing on the side or drizzle it over just before serving.

Tips

  • Toast raw sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan, until golden and fragrant.
  • The dressing keeps for 5 days in the refrigerator. Stir in a little water if it thickens.

Questions about this recipe

What does creamy sesame dressing taste like?
Nutty, lightly sweet and tangy, a little like a rich peanut sauce but smoother and lighter.
Can I use hot-smoked salmon?
Yes. Flake it into large pieces over the greens instead of rolling it into rosettes.

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