Roasted salmon, cauliflower, and chickpea quinoa salad

With a minty yogurt sauce that's so good, you kinda wanna drink it

Hi, friends. Happy Sunday to those of us reading this, happy Friday to those of us writing this (me). Lately I’ve been going to the farmers market again, which makes me so happy. We arrive sometime between 9:30 and noon because life with two kids is truly unpredictable, and always start with a lemonade from the lady who sells fresh lemonade and corn on the cob and a croissant from the guy who never seems to have any chocolate croissants, no matter how early we get there.

After my toddler has been appeased with her Sunday morning treats, I’m free to browse. We hold hands and happily walk up and down the street and back up again, clocking what looks delicious. Tiny radishes in the most vibrant shade of red, bundles of herbs you can smell from a mile (or, at the very least, a stall) away, little fresh-out-of-the-ground carrots still clinging to the dirt that helped them grow.

We then go back and buy what caught our eye, always keeping in mind the things we typically eat and always need (salad greens, oranges, berries, onions, broccoli) but leaving some space in our straw tote for the produce that’s just too pretty, too perfect to leave behind. I let Sasha pick out the exact pieces we buy, with a little help from me, in the hopes it’ll make her want to eat our veggie treasures.

“Should I cut the tops off the carrots?” one of the vendors asks me. Absolutely not. I probably won’t use them but I sure as heck will get a kick from how romantic those long, frilly carrot tops look every time I spot them in my fridge.

My cooking has been super influenced by these trips, naturally.

Tell me more

Today’s recipe 100% began in those colorful, bountiful farmers market stalls. A hearty grain salad studded with in-season, farm-fresh deliciousness. Those pretty carrots and radishes, along with green onions I bought simply because I’d never seen green onions that large, and with flowers on them! A little head of cauliflower I knew would taste so good when roasted, and a whole lot of mint because I love mint and I love you guys and want you to experience the cooling tang of this minty yogurt sauce. And you know what would taste good with all of that? Salmon, roasted until it’s a little crisp and then flaked with a fork, mixed in with some quinoa. Chickpeas, because a roasted chickpea that’s halfway between crunchy and soft is just a delight to chew on.

It’s hearty but won’t weigh you down, and something you can make once and eat again and again. Or make once and eat once because it’s so good, how could there possibly be any leftovers?

Before we start

• I love the red quinoa here but think farro would be a delightful substitute! You could also use pearl couscous, bulgur, or barley.

• When buying salmon, aim for a thicker fillet that you can cut into 1-1.5” chunks. These thicker fillets are generally called “center-cut.” If you can only find thinner fillets, you’ll want to reduce the cooking time a bit (especially if you like your salmon a bit on the rarer side!).

• Skin-on or skinless salmon is your choice. I used skin-on because that’s what they had at the Whole Foods seafood counter but removed it after cooking because I’m not a huge fan of salmon skin.

• I was torn between presenting this recipe as a salad with all the components mixed together or as a layered dish with salmon on top of veggies on top of grain. I went with the former because it’s how I like to eat it but you can certainly layer it up instead if you are feeling salad-averse. This is really a salad in the loosest sense of the word. If I was feeding it to my picky toddler, I’d probably keep everything separate (though she wouldn’t eat it either way).

• The only thing that could make this meal better is a cold, crisp glass of white wine — a Vermentino would be my recommendation.

• Is there a recipe you’d like to see in my newsletter next? My inbox is open (hellosaturdaytable@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram) — I’d love to learn more about what kind of recipes you’d like to see!

The recipe

Serves: 4

Cook time: 40 minutes