Chopped Salad with Salmon, Hard-Cooked Eggs, Potatoes, Frisée, Radish, and Avocado

Suggested wine: Beaujolais; rosé

Texturally and visually, I love chopped salads. I like to see individual ingredients play off each other in color, crunch, and taste. This main-course salad has it all. The rich, garlic-infused pink salmon rests center stage, surrounded by complementary flavors and textures. The crisp and slightly bitter frisée (curly endive) contrasts with the earthy, sweet-tasting potatoes. Smooth and creamy chunks of avocado and egg are the soft parts next to dense, crisp bites of radish. The mustard dressing, with lots of pepper, pulls all the flavors together. My palate guides my fork around my plate going from one interesting bite to the next in happy amusement.

SERVES 4 TO 6

Dressing

• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1¼ teaspoons kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

• 16 new red potatoes
• 1½ teaspoons kosher or sea salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 center-cut salmon fillet (about 1¹/2 pounds), skin and pin bones removed
• 1 small head frisée (about 8 ounces), torn into bite-sized pieces
• 4 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped (see Cook’s Note)
• 2 green onions, including green tops, thinly sliced into rounds
• 2 bunches radishes, trimmed and halved
• 2 firm but ripe Hass avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into ½-inch chunks

TO MAKE THE DRESSING: In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, mustard, parsley, sugar, salt, and lots of pepper. (Several good grinds of pepper make the vinaigrette taste robust, a perfect complement to the potatoes.) Cover tightly and shake vigorously to blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside.

Fill a 3-quart saucepan two-thirds full of cold water, add the potatoes and 1 teaspoon of the salt, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, partially covered, just until tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Drain and let cool, then cut in half, keeping the skin on. Place in a medium bowl. Give the dressing a vigorous shake and toss the potatoes with about ¼ cup of the dressing. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, thyme, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Rub the salmon on all sides with this mixture. Place the salmon, skinned side down, in a baking dish and bake in the center of the oven for 14 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. The salmon is done when it appears almost opaque throughout, but still very moist, or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers between 125° and 130°F. Remove the salmon and set aside to cool slightly.

Cut the salmon into 4 to 6 serving-sized pieces and place in the center of a large serving platter. Visually divide the rest of the platter into five wedge-shaped sections. Arrange the potatoes in one section, the frisée next to it, and the chopped eggs next to the frisée, scattering the green onions over the eggs and potatoes. Arrange the radishes next to the eggs. Place the chunks of avocado between the potatoes and the radishes. (This maximizes the lovely contrast of colors.) Give the remaining dressing another vigorous shake and drizzle it over everything except the potatoes. Grind a little pepper over the top and serve immediately.

COOK’S NOTE

To hard-cook an egg so that no green color coats the yolk, proceed as follows: Place the eggs in a small saucepan. Add cold water to cover by 1 inch and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and then immediately reduce the temperature to low; the water should barely simmer. Set a timer for 11 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, pour off the boiling water and run cold water over the eggs until they are cool enough to handle. Peel under running water. If you re not using the eggs immediately, leave the shells on and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Write “HB “ on the eggshells with a pencil to indicate they’ve been cooked.