- por Jason Pabst
French Niçoise Steelhead Salad
- por Jason Pabst
Guest recipe Paid partner
Recipe by Jason Pabst
Developed for Seatopia using our Steelhead Sashimi Loin, steamed in foil on the grill
Serves 3 · about 40 minutes · grill or oven
The classic, humble French salad, made with Seatopia Steelhead in place of canned tuna. The fish is wrapped in foil with olive oil and lemon and steamed on the grill, so it comes out moist and flakes into big, tender pieces over the platter.
Everything else is simple produce at its best — baby potatoes, string beans, tomatoes, olives, jammy eggs and crisp greens — pulled together with a bright Dijon lemon vinaigrette. It is a salad made to be shared, and it is just as good warm as at room temperature.
At a glance
About 40 minutes
The potatoes, beans and eggs share one pot, and the steelhead cooks in its foil packet at the same time. Most of the work is chopping while things boil.
Serves 3
One 12 oz Steelhead Sashimi Loin, about 4 oz of fish per plate. Laid whole over a big platter and served family style.
One pot, three timers
Everything goes into the boiling water together. Beans come out at 5 minutes, eggs at 8 and potatoes at 15 — one timer, three pulls.
Steamed in foil
Parchment inside foil, olive oil, salt and sliced lemon, sealed tight. 10 minutes on the grill or 15 in a 350°F oven, then let it cool a little before it goes on the salad.
One pot, three timers
Everything boils together. It just comes out at different times.
Bring a medium pot of water to the boil, then add the potatoes, string beans and eggs all at once and start a single timer. Lift each one out with a slotted spoon as its time comes up. One pot to wash, and the three finish within ten minutes of each other.
String beans Out at 5 min
Bright green and just tender, with a little snap left. They keep cooking from their own heat, so pull them on time.
Eggs Out at 8 min
Set whites and a soft, jammy centre — the yolk you see across the platter in the photos. Halve them once they are cool enough to handle.
Baby potatoes Out at 15 min
A knife slides into the centre with no resistance. Halve them while they are still warm so they take on some of the vinaigrette.
The dots show how far into the 15 minutes each one comes out. Let everything cool slightly before you halve it — warm, not hot.
French Niçoise Steelhead Salad
Jason Pabst
20 minutes
20 minutes
The classic French niçoise, made with Seatopia Steelhead in place of canned tuna. Steamed in foil on the grill, laid over potatoes, string beans, jammy eggs and olives, and finished with a Dijon lemon vinaigrette.
Ingredients
For the niçoise salad
- 1 Steelhead Sashimi Loin (12 oz) ← link this one to the product Steelhead, Sashimi Loin
- 3 pasture-raised eggs
- 2 cups baby potatoes
- 2 cups string beans
- 2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup kalamata olives, halved
- 3 handfuls lettuces of choice
- 1 large handful parsley, finely chopped
- Olive oil, sea salt and 1 lemon, sliced, for the fish
For the Dijon vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp dried dill
- Sea salt, to taste
Directions
Boil the potatoes, string beans and eggs
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes, string beans and eggs. Remove the string beans after 5 minutes, the eggs after 8 minutes and the potatoes after 15 minutes
Cook the steelhead
Lay a sheet of parchment on a large piece of foil and set the steelhead on it. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and top with sliced lemon. Wrap it up tightly and cook on the grill for 10 minutes, or in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes. Let it cool slightly.
Prepare the salad ingredients
Chop the tomatoes, olives and parsley. When the potatoes, string beans and eggs have cooled slightly, halve them all
Make the vinaigrette
Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients to a small jar and shake or stir to combine.
Plate the salad
Spread the lettuce evenly over a large platter and top with the rest of the salad ingredients. Lay the steelhead over the salad and spoon over the vinaigrette
Everything on this plate
Our Steelhead Sashimi Loin, one 12 oz piece for three plates. Any of our salmon works in its place. Everything else is a garden or a greengrocer — baby potatoes, string beans, tomatoes, olives, eggs, lettuce and a big handful of parsley.
$11.94
/serving
Silken texture and bright flavor — sushi-grade and sensational for sashimi, crudos, or poke bowls
$18.13
/serving
Buttery, vibrant, and clean. Perfect pan-seared or sliced for sashimi.
$12.42
/serving
A buttery well marbled classic - ideal for everyday
How the fish cooks
A sealed packet steams the fish in its own juices.
Wrapped tight, the steelhead cooks in the steam from the lemon, the olive oil and its own moisture instead of in dry heat. That is what keeps it soft enough to flake over a salad in big pieces, and it works the same on a grill or in the oven.
1
Parchment inside foil
Lay a sheet of parchment on a large piece of foil. The parchment sits between the fish and the foil, and the foil holds the seal. Set the loin in the middle.
2
Oil, salt, lemon, seal
Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and lay sliced lemon down the length of it. Fold the edges over and crimp them tight so no steam escapes.
3
Grill or oven, then rest
10 minutes on the grill or 15 in a 350°F oven. Open it carefully — the steam is hot — and let the fish cool a little. It should flake easily when pressed with a fork.
Swaps that work
A niçoise is a method more than a list — cooked vegetables, eggs, something briny, good fish and a sharp dressing. Change what you have; keep the shape.
| As written | Easy swap | What changes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The fish | 12 oz Steelhead Sashimi Loin | Any Seatopia salmon | Two 6 oz portions are thinner than one loin — check them at the low end of the time |
| The heat | Grill, 10 minutes | 350°F oven, 15 minutes | Gentler and slower. Same sealed packet |
| The beans | String beans | Yellow wax beans, as in the photos | Same 5 minutes in the pot |
| The olives | Kalamata, halved | Niçoise olives | The traditional choice. Smaller, so leave them whole |
| The dill | 1 tbsp dried dill | Fresh dill | Use about 3 tbsp, finely chopped |
| The greens | Lettuces of choice | Butter lettuce, little gem or a mix | Soft leaves hold the vinaigrette; sturdier ones add crunch |
Built for a table outside
Almost everything here can be done before anyone sits down. Boil the potatoes, beans and eggs and cook the steelhead ahead, then let them come to room temperature — a niçoise is meant to be eaten that way. The vinaigrette is made in a small jar, so give it a hard shake right before it goes on. Dress the platter at the last minute so the greens stay crisp.
Why steelhead takes the tuna’s place
A traditional niçoise leans on canned tuna. Steelhead brings a soft, rich flake and a mild flavour that sits comfortably beside the briny olives and the sharp vinaigrette, and steamed in a sealed packet it stays moist enough to lay over the platter in large pieces.
Our Steelhead is sourced from best-in-class aquaculture. Blast-frozen to -10°F at harvest, vacuum sealed. Every supplier is third-party tested for nutrition, mercury and microplastics, then randomly audited to ensure consistent compliance with the Seatopia Standard. Low mercury, tested to a tenth of the FDA action level. We test and publish omega-3, protein, selenium, vitamin D and B12.
French niçoise steelhead salad, answered
Can I use salmon instead of steelhead?
Yes — any salmon from Seatopia works in this recipe. Portions are thinner than a whole loin, so check them at the low end of the cooking time: the fish is ready when it flakes easily with a fork.
Grill or oven?
Either. The sealed packet does the work, so the heat source matters less than usual: about 10 minutes on the grill or 15 in a 350°F oven. You can cook it on the stovetop too.
How do I know the steelhead is done?
Open the packet carefully and press the thickest part with a fork. It is ready when the flesh is opaque and separates into flakes without effort. If the centre still looks translucent, re-seal the packet and give it a few more minutes.
Is it served warm or cold?
Either, and room temperature is the classic. Let the fish, potatoes and eggs cool slightly before they go on the greens so the lettuce does not wilt, and dress the platter just before serving.
How runny are the eggs at 8 minutes?
Set whites and a soft, jammy centre, like the ones in the photos. For a firmer yolk leave them in for 10 minutes instead.
How do I thaw the steelhead?
Overnight in the refrigerator in the sealed pack, about 12 hours, then pat it dry before it goes into the packet. In a hurry, submerge the sealed pack in cold water and change the water every 20 minutes. Never thaw fish on the counter or out of its pack.
More seafood to cook this week
Recipes from our kitchen and from the people who cook with us.
