Hot Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad

Serves 4 as a main course

Buy prepared hot smoked salmon, or hot smoke your own salmon following the directions that come with your smoker.

1½ pounds pink-skinned potatoes, scrubbed

3 large eggs

½ cup finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

1 tablespoon rinsed and drained capers in brine

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

12 ounces hot smoked salmon, skinned, broken into large chunks

1 romaine heart, trimmed, cut into ½-inch crosswise slices

12 or more diagonal slices of seedless cucumber

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into 8 wedges

1 lemon, cut into wedges, seeded

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cover with cold water, and heat to boiling over high heat. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a skewer. Drain and cool. Peel off the skins and cut the potatoes into ½-inch chunks. Place in a large bowl.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, place the eggs in a small saucepan, add water to cover, heat to a boil (uncovered) and immediately take the pan off the heat. Cover and let stand 12 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold

water. Gently crack the shell of each egg on the side of the pan, and let stand in cold water for 10 minutes. One by one, gently roll the eggs on a hard surface and carefully peel off the loosened shells. Quarter the eggs and cut each quarter in half crosswise. Add the eggs, onion, parsley and capers to the potatoes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a generous grinding of black pepper. Add to the potato mixture and gently fold together. Add the salmon and fold once to blend.

4. Served on a bed of lettuce garnished with cucumber, avocado and lemon wedges.

Per serving: 580 calories, 27 g protein, 46 g carbohydrates, 33 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 180 mg cholesterol, 2,010 mg sodium, 7 g fiber. Calories from fat: 52 percent.

— Staff analysis