Grilled Salmon Greek Salad With Herb Dressing Recipe

As recipe developer Kate Shungu tells us, "I love making loaded salads." By this, of course, she means any kind of salad where the mix-ins play a major role, as opposed to a green or side salad where all you're getting is lettuce with maybe a few slivers of carrot or cucumber. Some famous "loaded salads," to use Shungu's term, include chef salad and Cobb salad as well as the more heavily embellished kinds of Caesar salad.

Here, however, Shungu is playing with Greek-inspired flavors such as feta cheese and kalamata olives, as well as an herb-infused dressing -– oregano, in particular, would give the salad a Mediterranean feel, although you can use any herbs you choose. Shungu touts this salad recipe as having "Plenty of fresh produce" since in addition to lettuce, it also contains tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. The cheese and olives make for what she calls "some salty, tangy additions [that serve] to balance it out," while the salmon itself adds protein and healthy fat.

The salad itself consists of arugula lettuce mixed with grape tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion while the toppings include feta, kalamata olives, and salmon sprinkled with pepper. The dressing is made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and your choice of herbs.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Season salmon fillets with ½ teaspoon of salt and black pepper to taste.

Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, fresh chopped herbs, and remaining salt in a small bowl.

Place the salmon fillets on the grill, skin side up. Grill for 4–5 minutes.

Flip and grill for an additional 3–4 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached.

Divide the arugula between 4 bowls.

Top with the tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion.

Garnish with the feta cheese and kalamata olives.

Top each salad with the salmon

Drizzle dressing on top and serve.

While this Greek salad could be perfect as a summertime supper, Shungu tells us, "I love making this one year-round." She describes it as "A great light dinner or even a mid-week lunch" and notes that if you're looking to save time, you can prepare the ingredients in advance and assemble the salad when you're ready to eat it.

If you're eating the salad as a main course, you might want to add a side of garlic bread or pair it with a bowl of soup –- avgolemono would be in keeping with a Greek-inspired meal theme. You could also serve the salad as a hearty side dish or a first course for a meal of Greek foods such as gyros, moussaka, saganaki, souvlaki, and spanakopita. A dessert of baklava would be delicious, while Turkish coffee (which is essentially identical to the kind they drink in Greece) would make for an appropriate beverage.

Even though grilled salmon is one of the main ingredients in this salad and even gets a shout out in the name, you may make the dish without fish if you wish. Shungu herself admits that she tends to "substitute any protein ... that I have on hand" and suggests chicken, shrimp, steak, or chopped-up plant-based burger patties as possible salmon substitutes. She also tells us that "If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can roast the salmon in the oven." She says to bake it at 400 F for about 15 minutes or maybe a little longer.

Of course, you can also play around with the other salad ingredients, as well. Shungu speculates that goat cheese will work in place of feta, while lemon juice or white wine vinegar could be used in the dressing. For the lettuce, you can use whatever kind you prefer, while you can also use dried herbs (2 teaspoons in all) instead of the fresh kind.