Another week is about to begin, and I find myself contemplating lunch. It's the most difficult meal of the day for me, because at noontime, Monday through Friday, I don't have the luxury of my home kitchen for meal making.
Unfortunately, my school's cafeteria is a scary place for anyone who wants to consume healthy-ish food, and an outright nightmare for a person who is gluten-intolerant and wants to eat healthy food, minus the '-ish'.
That means I have to plan ahead. I'm not always the best planner, either, which means that, occasionally, my lunch consists of a barely-ripe banana and a little bag of over-salted mixed nuts. I'm more than slightly embarrassed by that revelation, but sometimes I'm preoccupied and don't bother whipping up a respectable meal ahead of time. A little bit of foresight really does go a long way.
I reminded myself of that this afternoon when I took a break from speech writing and glove knitting to forage in the kitchen for an afternoon meal. As I perused the contents of the fridge, I came across the container, um... containing? the last of the salmon salad (tuna salad's fraternal twin) that I made a few days ago.
In the spirit of weekday lunches, today I had made myself a sandwich.
That pink can there is the secret weapon in this particular recipe. Loki Fish Company are my local fish-mongers who sell me their wild-caught salmon products every week at the farmer's market. We've gotten to know the guys who sling this brand of salmon, and they always take a minute or two to say hello and talk with us about our latest recipes. The least we can do is offer them some culinary inspiration in return for the incredible seafood that they provide for us.
My salmon salad is fairly reminiscent of the typical tuna salad that most of us are familiar with. There is one significant difference, however. Well, besides the salmon factor. Rather than loading up on mayo, as the traditional recipes are known to do, I sub it out completely for another creamy condiment. Yogurt. Sound weird? Plain, whole-milk yogurt actually makes an excellent, healthier alternative to mayo in this recipe. Green onions, celery, a touch of lemon and a pinch of cayenne all make for a tasty salad that I'm proud to call my lunch. Top your sandwich with any condiments and/or raw veggies that you like. Today I used a spicy mustard, raw sweet pepper slices and celery leaves to adorn mine. It just depends on what I have in the fridge.
Salmon Salad Sandwich
makes 3-4 sandwiches1 - 7.5 ounce can wild salmon, bones and skin removed
1/4 - 1/2 C. plain, whole-milk yogurt (I like Nancy's brand)
1 green onion, white and green parts, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
squeeze of lemon (to taste)
pinch of cayenne (to taste)
salt (to taste)
sliced bread, toasted
lettuce, sprouts or other greens (for topping)
mustard or other condiments (for topping)
Place the salmon in a bowl and break apart with a fork. Add 1/4 C. yogurt, onion and celery and mix well. Add lemon, cayenne and salt, mixing well to incorporate. If the mixture seems too dry, add more yogurt. Taste and adjust lemon, salt and cayenne, as desired.
Spread 1/4 - 1/3 of salmon mixture on 3-4 slices of toasted bread. Top with veggies of choice. Spread condiments (if using) on remaining slices of bread and place over salmon and veggies.
Lunch! Easy peasy.
How is it, you may be asking, that someone who claims to be gluten-intolerant can be eating such fantastic looking bread? The answer is, Udi's. They make incredible gluten-free sandwich bread which has become a staple for me and my busy schedule. Doesn't it look amazing? Toasted or not, this bread is so good that Dan, my gluten-eating boyfriend, has told me that he wants to start eating it, too. Thank you, Udi's, for a product that I don't just pretend to love.
I always forget about this! I typically go the chicken or tuna route. This looks delicious.
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