Salmon Salad

If you see this salad at my house it usually means warm weather has finally arrived! While everyone in the family loves it (okay, except Sarah, but she'll grow out of that!), I wonder if they'll ever tackle making it on their own. Why? Because everyone grosses out when they see me getting the salmon ready to put in the salad. Come on people, don't fear the salmon! It's worth it. :)

Oh, and if you're taking this somewhere for something like a pot luck dinner, garnishing with a sprig of parsley and three cherry tomatoes makes for a lovely presentation.


Salmon Salad

1 1/2 cups seashell pasta
1 large can salmon
1 cup chopped celery (I chop these really small--a fine dice.)
1 small, carrot, shredded (Use a grater.)
1/2 cup sliced olives
1 Tablespoon parsley (I usually use dried parsley.)

Dressing Ingredients
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (Use a fresh lemon! Bottled stuff is icky!)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (See, you've got to use a fresh lemon anyway or you'll have no zest!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise (In the picture you'll notice the blender--that's my homemade mayo.)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
(I also rinse out the big pot I cooked the pasta in with cold water to cool it enough so I can put the cold pasta back in it to mix the salad. Makes for one less dish to wash. The serving dish I put it into is too small to stir everything in.)

(And here they should say DRAIN THE SALMON!)
Remove skin and bones from salmon.
(This is not necessary, as the can of salmon will tell you that everything is edible--full of calcium and such--but the skin and bones [and I even get rid of the really dark colored meat] just isn't very pretty. Sometimes my desire for the added calcium trumps my desire for prettiness, so I make sure I really crush the bones--just using my fingers--they crush easily. To remove the skin and bones, I dump the salmon into the same colander I used to drain the pasta [but I've put the pasta back in the big pan, remember?], then gently break apart the salmon--the bones will easily come right out, and if you gently rub your thumb along the skin and dark meat, it will come off easily too. It's a little messy, but since everyone in my family is happy happy when I make this salad, it's worth it.)

Toss pasta, salmon, celery, carrot, olives, and parsley. Combine dressing ingredients. Toss with pasta mixture. Refrigerate for at last one hour.
(This is to let the flavors blend. Letting it sit overnight is even better--which makes this a great Sabbath Day meal, because all the work is done on Saturday!)