The Canned Fish Swap That Gives Niçoise Salad A Tasty Twist

The French dish known as Niçoise salad sounds rather fancy, and while it is certainly an elevated meal, one of the main ingredients, tuna, is quite humble, most often out of a can or jar. The tinned fish joins other staple ingredients like hard-boiled eggs, green beans, and black olives, although there are slight variations of the salad. One ideal way to switch up a Niçoise salad at home is to ditch the canned tuna for salmon instead.

Salmon has a slightly stronger fishy flavor compared to tuna, which is a good reason to swap the ingredient in a Niçoise salad. This variety of fish also has a richer, buttery flavor and texture compared to tuna if you want it to flake apart on top of the salad. If you care about the aesthetics of your dinner plate, salmon will give a pop or bright-pink or orange to the meal. And while you might be accustomed to fresh salmon, you can find canned versions of the fish just like tuna, which can be more affordable and easy to work with.

Try canned salmon in our colorful Niçoise salad recipe for an easy start. Like canned tuna, salmon comes packed in water or oil. In a traditional Niçoise salad, tuna packed in oil is the go-to ingredient, so choose the same with the salmon for a richer flavor. However, if you can only find salmon in water, it will still contribute to a tasty salad. Either way, drain off any liquid before it goes on top of the salad. For every four servings, expect to use 12 ounces of canned salmon to pull off the meal according to our recipe. When it's time to assemble the salad, add chunks of the drained salmon on top along with the potatoes, green beans, and other ingredients.

Upgrade your Niçoise salad further and use freshly-cooked fish, perhaps with our lemon-garlic baked salmon. Or take a note from Gordon Ramsay and make a Niçoise salad dressing with the capers and anchovies that typically go on top to amp up the flavors. Another way to upgrade the classic French salad is to make roasted or crispy potatoes instead of boiled, which will add a crunch factor to balance the flaky salmon. Or sprinkle some lemon pepper on top of the salad to give depth to the dish. And if you really like the tinned ingredient, here are other ways to use canned salmon, like adding it to frittatas.