Irish Pub Salad with Hot Smoked Salmon
This delicious twist on a traditional Irish Pub Salad features the familiar mix of fresh and pickled vegetables, lush greens, eggs and cheese. To turn it into a bright and fresh main course for spring, we've added rich hot smoked salmon and the most delicious creamy cucumber and dill dressing!
Ingredients
Pickled Beets and Pickled Onions
- 3 medium golden beets, roasted and sliced in thin rounds (see recipe notes below for roasting instructions if needed)
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tsp kosher salt
Salad
- 1 head of butter lettuce, large leaves torn into bite size pieces
- 1 cup orange cherry tomatoes, halved if large
- 3 Persian or mini cucumbers, sliced
- 1 rib celery, finely sliced
- 227gr/8oz hot smoked salmon
- 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced (see recipe notes below for tips)
- 1 cup cubed Irish cheddar
- fresh dill for garnish
- Creamy Cucumber Dill Dressing (see linked recipe above)
Instructions
For the pickled beets and onions
- Take out two large clean jars with lids. To the first jar, add the roasted and sliced golden beets. To the second jar, add the sliced red onion. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat 2 cups of water, the apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the beets and the red onion, dividing the mixture evenly between the two jars. If necessary, use a fork to submerge the beets and onion in the liquid. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using. The pickled beets and onions can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, and the flavour improves with time, so make these a day or more in advance if you can.
For the salad
- On a large platter, arrange the butter lettuce leaves. Add the cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber and sliced celery in and amongst the lettuce leaves.
- Remove pickled beets from the brine, and drain. Arrange pickled beets in and amongst the vegetables on the platter. Remove pickled onions from the brine and drain. Curl small bunches of the pickled onions and add them to the salad.
- Use a fork to gently break the smoked salmon into bite size pieces. Add the smoked salmon to the salad, tucking it into the vegetables. Add the egg slices, then sprinkle the salad with the cubes of Irish cheddar.
- Garnish the salad with fresh dill fronds and serve with the Creamy Cucumber Dill Dressing on the side.
Notes
To roast beets: Preheat oven to 400F. Scrub the beets clean and pat dry with a paper towel. Slice off the stem and root ends. Tear off a piece of foil large enough to enclose the beets. Top the foil with a piece of parchment paper. Place the beets in the centre of the parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Bring up the corners of the parchment paper to wrap the beets. Wrap the foil around the parchment packet of beets, folding the edges over to seal so no steam can escape. Place the foil wrapped packet on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Roast until beets are tender and can be easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. The exact timing will depend on the size and freshness of your beets, but medium size beets typically cook through in 45-55 minutes. Unwrap the beets and set them aside to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, use your fingers or a pairing knife to remove the skins. Roasted beets can be made in advance and kept in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To make hard boiled eggs: Place the eggs in a small pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Place the lid on the pot and bring it to a boil. Once the water boils, immediately remove the pot from the heat. Keeping the pot covered, allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Drain the eggs, and run them under cold water to stop the cooking. Allow eggs to cool completely. Eggs can be cooked up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge, in the shell, until needed.
To peel hard boiled eggs: To remove the shell from the cooked eggs, gently tap the egg all over on a work surface until cracks appear all over the shell. Under cold running water, peel off the shells. There's an air bubble in most eggs, usually at the bottom of the egg. Try removing the shell from the bottom first as the space created by the air bubble will make it easier to start the shell removal process.
*Note: Hard boiled eggs can be difficult to peel sometimes. While there are many tips and tricks out there for the smooth removal of shells, there's really only one thing that works: Buy your eggs a week before you plan to use them, and store them in the fridge. The freshest eggs have tight membranes that cause the cooked egg to stick to the shell. Eggs that are a little older have relaxed a little and shrunk away from the membrane, making the shells easier to remove.