Pack Your Caesar Salad With Extra Flavor Using Shredded Salmon

Caesar salad recently celebrated its 100th birthday. Invented by Cesare Cardini, the beloved salad debuted in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924. Today, the recipe has been riffed on by restaurants and home cooks alike who have all found unique ways to enhance the salad with additional ingredients, side dishes, homemade dressing, and more.

One of the more popular variations of Caesar salad is adding protein. Although grilled chicken Caesar salad is one of the most common variants, there is another great meat that pairs perfectly with Caesar salad: shredded salmon. Not only does salmon have several health benefits, but its flavor blends effortlessly with the umami notes of Caesar salad and the slight fishiness of the dressing.

The addition of shredded salmon is an easy way to turn salad into a filling meal. Once the salmon has been cooked, simply shred the meat and add it to the top of the salad. Although salmon can be served whole on top of Caesar salad, shredding the salmon first will make it easier to incorporate into the salad, as well as easier to eat. 

Making salmon for Caesar salad does not have to be a fancy or complicated process. A simple lemon-garlic baked salmon recipe will make for a protein and flavor booster. Since modern Caesar salad recipes call for anchovies in the dressing, there is already some seafood flavor present. Keeping the salmon simple and straightforward will ensure that it adds to the salad without making it overpowering in fishiness.

Caesar salad is also a great way to use leftover salmon. Simply shred the leftover salmon on top of some Caesar salad and dinner is served. For those who want to keep things even simpler, premade salad mix and leftover salmon combined with Caesar salad dressing will make a meal in a pinch.

Properly cooked salmon will flake and shred pretty easily. Salmon can be flaked into larger chunks or shredded more finely depending on personal preference. The meat can be shredded either by hand or with a fork. Once the salmon has been shredded, it can be added to the top of the salad or tossed into the salad itself.