Grilled Vegetable and Salmon Salad with Cashew-Tamari Dressing
Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think this might be the best salad ever!
The inspiration for this salad came from a few different sources. First, the dressing is a play on the ever-popular Cashew-Tamari dressing at this locally-famous, now extinct, vegetarian restaurant that I used to work at. People literally used to come to West Lynn Cafe from all over town several times a week just for this dressing. I changed up this recipe a bit which I think makes it even better. I use less oil and kick up the amount of tamari to lower the calories and make it a bit saltier. Feel free to experiment with the amounts as you wish, though.
Second, I got the idea for the salad itself from another restaurant that Luke and I ate at recently. Although it was a big national chain restaurant, which I usually stay away from because the produce in chains tends to be poor, the salad was amazing. I decided to some remodeling to the restaurant version because a.) I wanted more, more, more veggies, and b.) I had a bunch in the fridge that need to be used up. The great part about grilling veggies is that you can pretty much put together any mish-mash of veggies you’d like. Once they are all grilled and diced together, whatever mix you use will most likely taste amazing. So, I put it all the stuff I had in the fridge together and it became this: The Greatest Salad of All Time!
GRILLED VEGETABLE AND SALMON SALAD WITH CASHEW-TAMARI DRESSING
serves two really hungry folks to four averagely hungry folks
dressing adapted from Mother’s recipe
Note: You will probably have leftover grilled veggies. It’s a sad thing, I know. Use them to top burgers, throw them over some pasta with a delicious tomato sauce, or stir them into some creamy polenta. Vegetarians and vegans, feel free to top the salad with a yummy grilled portabella, or some tofu or tempeh instead of salmon.
Grilled Veggie Mix:
1 corn on the cob
1 Japanese eggplant, sliced into rounds on a bias
1 zucchini, sliced into rounds on a bias
1 yellow squash, sliced into rounds on a bias
4 scallions, green ends trimmed
1 bunch thick asparagus, woody ends snapped off
1 red bell pepper, cut into four big chunks
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into four big chunks
1/4 cup canola oil
sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound fresh Wild Alaskan Salmon, cut into 2-4 fillets
canola oil spray
salt and pepper, to taste
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and sliced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
Cashew-Tamari Dressing:
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbs. tamari, or as needed for desired saltiness
1/4 cup cashews, or more as needed
1. For the dressing: In a tall, thin container or glass measuring cup, combine the oil, vinegar, tamari and cashews. Using an immersion blender, pulse the mixture until it is emulsified, but there are still small bits of cashew throughout the dressing. Taste for flavors and adjust as needed. This dressing is pretty thick. However, if it is too thick to pour, add more liquid as needed to thin it out. If you don’t own an immersion blender, BUY ONE NOW! pulse everything in a regular blender.
2. For the grilled veggies: Heat either an outdoor grill or grill pan to moderately high heat. I prefer to grill veggies inside so that they don’t fall through the grate. If you grill outdoors, place a large sheet of foil on the grate for the veggies.
3. Brush the corn with oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Throw all the other veggies together in a large bowl and toss with canola oil and salt and pepper. Grill all of the veggies on both sides until they have a nice char on them but are still crisp. Remove from heat and transfer to a cutting board. Cover with foil and set aside while grilling the fish.
4. For the Salmon: Spray the fillets with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. If grilling outside, place the fish, skin side up, over indirect heat (not directly over the coals). Cook for a few minutes or until the fish easily releases itself from the grate. Flip the fish and continue cooking, skin side down, for about 3-5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. Transfer to plate, cover with foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and dice the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and peppers. Cut the scallions and asparagus into one inch pieces. Toss all of these veggies together with the lettuce, sun-dried tomatoes, and avocado.
6. Divide the lettuce and veggie mixture amongst individual bowls. Remove the skin from the salmon and place a fillet on top of the veggies. Serve Cashew-Tamari dressing on the side.
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Rachel – Can I grill these veggies in advance? Do they need to be warm, or at least room temp?