Smoked Salmon Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing

Full of the season’s finest, this beautiful salad tastes just as vibrant as it looks. A bed of buttery oak leaf lettuce speckled with peppery watercress provides the perfect backdrop. Next comes the richness of smoked salmon and the delicateness of very thin, crunchy slices of raw asparagus and watermelon radish. I top it off with a Meyer lemon dressing that provides a sweeter, less acidic lemon note so that all the flavors shine.

Ingredients

Meyer Lemon Dressing

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Salad

½ pound thin asparagus
1 watermelon radish
4 ounces red or green oak leaf lettuce (or another buttery variety)
1 cup watercress
8 ounces smoked salmon

Begin by preparing the Meyer lemon dressing. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside so that the flavors meld. If it separates before the salad components are ready to be dressed, whisk again.

Next remove the tough, woody ends from the asparagus spears. Thinly slice the asparagus diagonally as seen in the salad photos. Since we are starting with thin spears to begin with, you may wind up with about three or so pieces per trimmed spear. The ends should taper off into delicate edges. Lightly dress with the Meyer lemon mixture.

Use a mandoline to slice the watermelon radish very thinly. Lightly dress.

Slice the smoked salmon and gently roll each piece.

Toss the lettuce with watercress and dress. Gently work the leaves until they are coated but not limp. Add in the dressed asparagus and watermelon radish. Tuck pieces of rolled smoked salmon throughout the salad. Top with freshly cracked black pepper.