San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
That great spice on an everything bagel turns a salmon dinner into a deli classic Everything Salmon with Cucumber and Red Onion Salad
If my husband decides to walk over to our favorite deli to pick up bagels, he doesn’t even ask me what kind I want. He knows it’ll be an everything bagel — usually with plain cream cheese. That spice combination of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes, garlic flakes and salt is divine.
If he’s feeling a little fancy, he might splurge on a Royal Palm, which is dressed with smoked salmon, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and capers.
There is a reason this traditional combo is so popular. The flavors balance one another so beautifully, with the creaminess of the cheese and juiciness of the tomato as a counterpoint to the salty salmon and capers. The cucumber and red onion deliver fresh crunch in each bite.
I’m not alone in my love for everything spice, and it’s not much of a leap to think about sprinkling some of that spice blend on fresh salmon and giving it a light sear for a quick and easy weeknight supper, but I wanted the whole shebang. So I played around with creating a cream cheese and caper dressing that could lightly coat the fresh salad of cucumbers, red onion and tomato.
It worked so well, I made it again and again. I can’t say no one else has ever done this, but it was new to me and soon joined my regular rotation.
Food origin stories often are messy. The everything spice blend is a case in point. David Gussin of Queens was credited with creating the blend in the 1980s, but then, of course, that claim was disputed by someone who said they made it that way years earlier.
Regardless, everything spice has grown so in popularity that it is now easy to find among the spices in well-stocked grocery stores.
You’ll have a bit of the salad dressing leftover; try dipping fresh vegetables in it for a snack. Or put a dollop on fish cakes, use it to dress a salad made with canned salmon, or mix it into your next tuna salad.
Love lox and bagels with all the traditional accompaniments? Then this dish may become a favorite.
For the dressing
3 ounces regular or low-fat cream
cheese, softened
2 tablespoons whole or 2 percent
milk, plus more if needed 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or
white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 clove garlic, halved
1 teaspoon fresh dill fronds, plus
more for serving (optional)
1⁄4 teaspoon finely ground black
pepper, plus more if needed
For the salmon and salad
4 (4- to 5-ounce) skin-on salmon
fillets
1 tablespoon everything bagel spice 1 cucumber (about 10 ounces),
peeled or unpeeled, thinly sliced 12 cherry tomatoes (about 6
ounces), halved
1 small red onion (about 4 ounces),
sliced into half-moons
4 small radishes, thinly sliced 1 lemon, for serving (optional)
Instructions: Make the salad dressing: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cream cheese, milk and lemon juice or vinegar, and process until smooth. Add the capers, garlic, dill, if using, and pepper, and pulse just until well combined. The dressing should be thick enough to coat the vegetables. If you want it thinner, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
Transfer the dressing to a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the salmon and salad: Place a platter near the stove. Pat the salmon dry with a tea towel or paper towel. Sprinkle the everything bagel spice evenly over the skinless side the salmon fillets and gently press the seasoning into the fish.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles when it hits the surface, but if it begins smoking reduce the heat. Add the fillets, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is lightly crisped, 3 to 4 minutes. (If you do not have a nonstick skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Then add the salmon.)
Using a spatula, turn the fillets over and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the salmon, without moving it, until it looks almost cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes; you can check by looking at the sides of each fillet, where you should see pinker meat near the edges and a slightly darker center. The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the fillet and the desired doneness.
Using a spatula, gently transfer the fish, spice-side up, to the platter.
While the salmon is cooking, in a large bowl, combine the cucumber, tomato, red onion and radishes.
When the salmon is ready, pour or spoon 1⁄2 cup of the dressing over the salad and toss until the vegetables are coated. Divide the salad among four plates and top each with a salmon fillet. Cut the lemon, if using, into wedges and serve alongside the fish. Serve the remaining dressing in a small bowl on the side, if desired.
Makes 4 servings