Who said salads are only for summer days? Clearly, someone who has not tried this one!
Velvety potatoes, juicy salmon, sweet crunchy red peppers and nutty kidney beans are all fused thanks to an unexpected sun-dried tomato sauce that will warm you up on those autumn days with its pleasant spiciness. The days when the words tasteless and boring are what come to mind when you think of steaming are over!
Ingredients for this salmon salad
- Salmon fillet
- Potatoes
- Kidney beans
- Red peppers
- Mixed green leaves
- Spring onion
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Yellow onion
- Spices: sweet paprika, cayenne pepper
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil
What are the benefits of steaming potatoes?
Steaming is an extremely simple technique that everyone, even without any cooking experience, can master. It only requires one additional piece of equipment -a steamer basket/ insert- that will last for years and years.
Moreover, it is a clean, no-fuss technique, where you don’t have to worry about the water boiling too vigorously.
Also, steaming potatoes allows the best retention of nutrients when compared to the most often used techniques like baking or boiling. And it does so in a considerably shorter amount of time.
Of course, not all varieties of potatoes will be perfectly suited for steaming, but the ones that are:
- don’t require peeling
- retain moisture
- keep perfect shape
- are evenly cooked throughout
- allow you to handle them without crumbling
Which potatoes are best for steaming?
Now, you are probably asking yourself, how will you know which potato varieties are best suited for steaming? And what does it depend on?
Considering that there are around 4000 different potato varieties in the world, I would advise you to not focus on finding a specific one but instead look for the type that is best suited to your chosen cooking method.
Luckily, there are only three main types that you should know about: starchy, waxy and all-purpose.
As the name implies, starchy or floury ones have the highest starch content, which makes them great for mashed potato, gnocchi and french fries, because of their liquid-absorbing capacity. Varieties of starchy potatoes: Maris Piper (UK), Rooster (UK), Yukon Gold (Canada).
On the opposite side of the spectrum are waxy potatoes, which have the lowest starch content and the highest amount of moisture. Thanks to that, they will have a more velvety texture and will keep their shape better when cooked. They will be ideal when making casseroles, stews or salads. Varieties of waxy potatoes: Adora (NL), Monalisa (NL), Charlotte (FR).
And then, somewhere in between, are the all-purpose ones, which are good all-rounders and will give you satisfactory results in many different preparations. Varieties of all-purpose potatoes: Bintje (NL), Cleopatra (NL), Desiree (NL), Vivaldi (NL).
As you may have already guessed, when it comes to steaming, the best choice is the waxy type. You will recognise it by its thinner and more delicate skin. Potatoes belonging to this type are usually younger ones, harvested at an earlier stage and thus, smaller in size.
How to steam potatoes?
Fill up a pot with three fingers (about 5 cm in height) of water, making sure it is not touching the steamer basket. Cover it with a lid and bring it to a boil. While waiting for the water to start boiling, give the potatoes a good wash, making sure to keep the skin intact. Keeping the skin on will add some extra fibre to the salad.
When the water starts boiling, place the potatoes inside the steamer basket, salt them and cook with a lid on for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. To make sure your potatoes are cooked through, pierce them with the tip of a knife. If done, there will be little to no resistance.
Why and how to steam salmon?
Even though roasting and poaching are the usual ways to prepare salmon, studies have indicated that steaming could not only affect its fatty acid profile in the most beneficial way but also give the salmon the best texture and mouthfeel of all the analysed preparation methods (boiling/ poaching, oven-cooking, steaming).
To steam your salmon, follow the same steps as with steaming potatoes but in this case reduce the cooking time to 5-7 minutes, having previously salted your salmon fillets.
How to make spicy sun-dried tomato sauce?
This spicy sun-dried tomato sauce has a thicker consistency than your usual salad dressing but it is exactly what this salad is asking for. It allows all the ingredients to combine together while complementing the creaminess that waxy potatoes and steamed salmon give.
While dressings are usually very high in fat due to the big amount of oil that goes inside, this salad sauce is a good example of how that doesn’t always have to be the case.
First, you will need to chop your onions finely and sweat them until they become translucent but not brown, 7-8 minutes. You don’t want your onions to burn but cook on low heat until soft and sweet. Last two minutes add the spices: sweet paprika and cayenne pepper. Cooking them briefly will enhance their aromas.
Now, for the next step, you will need a pretty strong hand blender to allow all the ingredients to blend and give that nice creaminess I’m talking about. But don’t worry, even if you don’t have one, the taste will still be there, you will just get a slightly grainier sauce.
How to cook beans?
It is true that beans take a bit longer to cook and that is why we mostly end up using the canned ones that you can find in every supermarket. But there are a lot of advantages to cooking beans at home.
I don’t know if you agree with me, but I find canned beans to be mushy in texture and quite bland in taste. Cooking them at home will result in better taste and texture. Another important factor to take into account is the nutritional value of beans, which degrades through the process of sterilisation that the canned food goes through to extend its shelf-life.
Bear in mind, there are a lot of different opinions on the best way to cook beans. I like the method Serious eats is using to cook them. Follow these steps to get your beans perfectly cooked in the best and quickest way:
- Pick through your beans in case some of them are damaged.
- Rinse them under cold water to remove any dust or dirt.
- Soak beans in cold water with 1,5% of salt. The minimum amount of time should be 4 h and they shouldn’t be left for longer than 24 hours. Use at least double the amount of water than beans, since they will swell to even double their weight and it is important that they stay covered. In case you soak them for longer than 8 hours, transfer your beans to the fridge to prevent any potential spoilage.
- Discard the soaking liquid.
- Place beans in a pot and cover with cold water. I would recommend you to salt the water lightly, although it is not totally necessary. You can add different vegetables like onion, carrot, and celery as well as spices like bay leaf or rosemary to give beans an even better taste. Bring the water to a boil and lower the temperature to a light simmer.
- Cook beans on a low simmer until soft but still holding their shape; around 45 min.
- Cool them down completely and store them in an airtight container together with the cooking liquid. Keep them in the fridge for 3-4 days or even freeze them together with the cooking liquid for up to 6 months.
What are the benefits of soaking beans?
- it softens the skin, allowing the beans to cook faster, which means higher nutrient retention
- it reduces the amount of bursting beans while cooking
- it improves protein and carbohydrate digestibility
- it decreases the levels of some phytochemicals that prevent certain minerals from being absorbed into our bodies.
