I’m not 100% sure this is a salad, maybe it is a side dish that you can also eat as a main?
Either way, I have made this a few times recently as the flavour combinations are just so good.
This salad relies on the bit and pieces you add (herbs, olives, capers, pomegranate seeds, quince syrup) outside of the salmon, carrots and rice, so while you can change things up a bit if you wish, don’t skip all the extras as it could end up pretty boring! You could also take this basic idea and go in a different direction flavour wise. You can also serve the rice with all the extras as a side to one salmon fillet per person, which would make this a more substantial meal (the rice is enough to serve at least four as a side, so just double the salmon quantities and serve one fillet per person).
I use Singing Magpie Produce’s Sticky Quince Syrup in this recipe, it is my favourite fruit based syrup and I highly recommend you try it if you can. You could also use date syrup/molasses instead, or pomegranate molasses. Taste as you go and use as little or as much as you like.
For the rice you can use two 250g packets of microwave rice (brown or white basmati rice works well), or cook brown or white rice from scratch (again basmati is my preference).
Sticky Quince Syrup by Singing Magpie Produce.
If you happen to have any Quince Vino Cotto from Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop in South Australia you can also use that in the rice portion of this recipe. Otherwise Date Syrup or Pomegranate Molasses will work well.
Salmon Carrot and Rice Salad with Quince Syrup
Ingredients:
x2 bunches heirloom carrots, mixed colours if possible (or x1 bunch if very large/about 4 regular medium sized carrots)
x2 medium salmon fillets (skin on or off, it’s up to you)
x2 250g packets of microwave brown or white basmati rice (or see below for cooking rice from scratch)
50g pine nuts, toasted
50g pitted green olive, sliced or roughly chopped
30g baby capers in brine, drained
3tbp olive oil + extra (you can use a combo of EVOO and garlic infused oil if you wish)
1 tbsp sticky quince syrup + extra
1 cup (minimum) chopped herbs, I prefer parsley and dill - use more if you like!
40g fresh or frozen pomegranate arils
salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Wash and peel the carrots, and slice in half if any are larger. If using regular carrots slice into thick match sticks by slicing the carrots in half cross ways, the in half length ways and slicing each quarter into halves or thirds depending on how big the carrots are.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, and place the carrots on the tray evenly in one layer then drizzle with olive oil or garlic infused olive oil, and toss to coat.
Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots are cooked through and starting to brown on the edges (the time will depend a little on how big or small your carrots are, so start with 15-20 mins and check them).
Once the carrots are cooked, set aside - you can drizzle a little quince syrup over them now if you wish.
If cooking your rice from scratch, get that started now.
To cook the salmon, line a baking tray with sides with baking paper, and place the salon fillets on the tray. Drizzle with olive oil or garlic infused oil, drizzle over 1/2-1 tbsp of the sticky quince syrup, then sprinkle over a little salt and pepper.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through or cooked to your liking - this timing will also depend on the size of your salmon fillets, if they are larger you may need closer to 20 mins. Check the middle of one to see if it’s cooked through.
Once done set aside for a moment.
If using microwave rice, get that sorted now using packet instructions.
In a large serving or salad bowl, combine the cooked rice, toasted pine nuts, green olives, capers, 3 tbsp olive oil (I like to use 1 tbsp garlic infused oil and 2 tbsp EVOO), 1 tbsp sticky quince syrup, chopped herbs and the carrots. Mix/toss to combine.
Flake up the salmon following the grain of the fish, discarding the skin if there is any. Toss this into the rice mixture. Taste and check if anymore quince syrup is needed (or anything else you fancy from the ingredients list, sometimes I add more capers as I love the vinegar hit). Top with the pomegranate arils and serve.
Serves four as a light lunch, or as a spread with other things.
Baked Rice
If you are making rice from scratch, you can either make enough basmati rice for four people as you normally would, or below is how I make rice if not using the microwave packets.
Ingredients:
200g white basmati rice
1 tsp butter or margarine
salt and pepper
400ml boiling water
Method:
Preheat oven to 220-230 degrees Celsius. My oven runs quite hot so I preheat to 220 degrees Celsius, however if your oven doesn’t run hot preheat to 230 degrees Celsius.
Place the rice in a medium baking dish, and make sure it is evenly covering the surface of the dish.
Drop in the butter or margarine, and sprinkle over a little salt and pepper.
Gently pour in 400ml boiling water, then cover tightly with foil or use the lid of the baking dish if it has one.
Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
Once done you should be able to fluff the rice with a fork, there will be no more water left in the dish and the rice will be cooked through
Reference: ‘Simple’ by Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wrigley and Esme Howarth (Ebury Press, 2018) p.171