Salmon and Crab Sandwiches with Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Salad

Coming up with this meal, simple as it is, took hours.  Foodless at home and without any ideas, I walked the 15 minutes to the farmers market, hoping to find something delicious.  The farmers market had the usual suspects - beets, lettuce, potatoes, basil, beans, peas, et cetera et cetera.  Nothing popped at me, so I sat for a while, staring at the produce, and decided I should just play with a new favorite of mine: roasted cauliflower.

When I was back in Minnesota in May, I was finally able to visit Bar La Grassa, the new "it" restaurant in Minneapolis.  I'll spare you all the details, but it was one of those meals where I came straight home and wrote up everything we ate and drank, so when I'm old and senile I can look back and think, "Remember when..."  Simple, impeccable, family-style Italian cuisine.  One of the stars that evening was a "Bagna Cauda Cauliflower," which was roasted, caramelized cauliflower bathed in an anchovy-garlic sauce.  Since then, I've been playing with slow roasting the veggie until it's soft, brown, and delicious.  Having grown up only having been served steamed cauliflower with cheddar on top, it has been a treat to rediscover the vegetable.

So, back to the farmers market. I picked up a head of cauliflower, slightly purple on the edges, and a bunch of potatoes.  A while back for a barbecue potluck I made a German-style potato salad with tarragon, so I thought it would be a fun to mix the potato salad with some caramelized cauliflower.  I don't eat much meat, and I thought maybe some grilled salmon would go nicely.  Voila, dinner.

Except, on my walk back from the farmers market, I tried to imagine the texture of salmon and potato salad.  It just didn't seem right.  Then my mind went to gnocchi, yes, gnocchi would be perfect!  But after a half-hour with my cookbooks, I had to admit to myself that I didn't have the right potatoes (Idaho) or tools (potato ricer) to make a proper gnocchi.  Damn.  What if I just made chicken - simple and would work, but no, I had eaten way too much meat the week before and my body wasn't digging it.  Damn.

Well, then, what normally goes well with potato salad?  It's picnic food, right?  Ahhh, sandwiches!  Crab would be perfect with the tarragon, according to my all-time favorite reference The Flavor Bible, and I could use the same dressing for both, thus easing my cooking.  Amazing! After a short trip to Whole Foods, I was ready.  I opted for half crab, half salmon because, well, salmon is a helluva lot cheaper. I also opted for dried tarragon instead of fresh for the same reason, and because I use a lot of tarragon...It's just too damned good.

A note about this recipe: it's a "taste along the way" one.  Below is the basic outline for how I cook it, but every time I make the dressing I tweak it a little, depending on how sweet or acidic I want it and how fresh the ingredients are.  Think of it less as a recipe and more as a suggested rubric. Also, I've listed the recipe by components and order of preparation.  The potatoes and cauliflower are the only parts that need to be cooked, so start there and prepare the dressing and sandwiches while they cook.

I enjoyed my meal with a crisp Chardonnay.  A nice Sauvignon Blanc or dry Reisling, with a bit of sweetness and a bit of fruit, would also go nicely. Oh, and a porch or backyard table will definitely improve your eating experience....

Salmon and Crab Sandwiches with Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Salad

Potato-Cauliflower Salad

4 large yellow potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 head of cauliflower, chopped to bite-sized pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced onions

2/3 of dressing recipe (see below)

1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put potatoes in a large pot and fill with water until about an inch above the potatoes.  Bring to a boil, lower heat so it doesn't boil over, and add a healthy pinch of salt.  Boil potatoes until soft, 25-30 minutes.

2) On a cookie sheet, douse cauliflower with olive oil and a pinch or two of salt. Arrange in single layer and roast until soft and brown (about 30 minutes), turning several times.

3) When potatoes are ready, drain in a colander and return to the pot over low heat.  I add in the garlic and onions at this time and stir for a couple of minutes, to temper the flavor of the garlic a bit.

4) In a large bowl, mix together potatoes, cauliflower, and dressing.  Serve warm or at room temperature.


Dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tbs. German or other coarse-ground mustard
1 tbs. dried tarragon
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1) Mix everything but the oil, salt and pepper in a bowl until well incorporated. Whisk in olive oil slowly.  Taste and adjust flavors as desired.

Salmon-Crab Sandwiches
1 tin crab meat, drained
1 tin salmon meat, drained
1/4 cup diced onions
1/3 of dressing recipe, see above
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
4 sandwich rolls

1) Mix the crab meat, salmon, onions, and dressing.  Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.  I wanted a little bit of freshness to my sandwiches, and to make them more distinct from the potato salad, so I added a squeeze of lemon juice.

2) Divide mixture among  the sandwich rolls and enjoy!