This paleo smoked salmon salad cake is one of my favorite dishes – it’s healthy, it’s easy to make, it’s delicious and it’s visually appealing, full of bright vibrant colors. I got the inspiration from a traditional to Russia and other Slavic countries dish, which is made inside a deep dish and which uses pickled herring in place of salmon. I think that the brightly colored salmon makes this dish so much more colorful and elegant, and so does the cake shape.
I also wanted to make this dish healthier and paleo friendly, so I am using paleo mayonnaise for this recipe. I found dozens of recipes for paleo mayonnaise on the Internet – it’s quite easy to make and it tastes amazing, too. Now, the opinions are split on whether smoke salmon is paleo, but it appears that the tendency is to accept that it is paleo, though it should be considered a treat and consumed in moderation.
You will notice that I am not using any salt or spices in this salad cake. With smoked salmon being on the salty side, it’s saltiness balances out nicely with other ingredients. As to the spices, this salad is so flavorful on its own that there is barely any need to add or enhance flavors. You can, however, add your favorite spices if you desire.
To shape the cake I used a 6 inch springform cake pan, it’s works beautifully for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 10 oz smoked salmon (coarsely chopped, about 2 heaping cups or 300g)
- 1 cup white onions (finely chopped)
- 2 cups white potatoes (fully cooked, shredded)
- 2 eggs (hard boiled, shredded)
- 2 medium carrots (fully cooked, shredded, about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large beets (fully cooked, shredded, about 2 cups)
- 10 Tbsp paleo mayonnaise (or regular mayo if making non-paleo version. Start with 1 tablespoon per layer and see if you need to add more)
For garnish
- 1 oz smoked salmon (slices, about 4-5)
- Fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot, half filled with water, to boil.
- Boil potatoes, carrots, and beets until fully cooked.
- In a separate bowl, boil eggs until fully cooked.
- Let the boiled vegetables and eggs chilled completely, preferably overnight.
- Prepare your salmon, eggs and vegetables and set aside.
- Place a 6" round springform cake pan, bottom removed, on a serving platter and begin cake assembly. If you don't a have a 6" cake pan, you can use a slightly larger one.
- Layer 1 - chopped smoked salmon.
- Layer 2 - chopped onions.
- Layer 3 - shredded potatoes plus 1 tablespoon (or more as needed) mayo spread evenly on top.
- Layer 4 - shredded egg plus 1 tablespoon (or more as needed) mayo spread evenly on top.
- Layer 5 - shredded carrots plus 1 tablespoon (or more as needed) mayo spread evenly on top
- Layer 6 - shredded beets plus 1 tablespoon (or more as needed) mayo spread evenly on top
- Carefully remove the cake pan
- Garnish with fresh parsley and a rose made from salmon slices
Notes
Nutrition
Brenda
I am really looking forward to making this! The ingredients call for 10 T of mayo, but see only the use of four . Am I to assume that you use more than 1T per layer?
victor
Brenda, you are correct, I should have said 1 Tbsp plus more to taste. Sometimes 1 Tbsp seems enough, sometimes more is needed. I suppose the diameter of the cake plays a role in this – a wider cake will need more mayo per layer.
Carol6n
How do you “shred” the Vegas.????
victor
I assume you are asking how to shred the veggies. I use a regular box grater. You want to use the surface with large ‘teeth’ that you normally would use for shredding cheese.
Effi
This recipe looks really good, and I will try it. I am doing a similar salad but without the salmon and in that recipe I have to make sure that all the water from the carrots and beets is squeezed out. I did not see in the recipe here that this has to be done. Just wanted to confirm.
victor
Without knowing what that recipe is I can’t say. You do not need to do this in this recipe. This is a traditional Russian salad (they use herring and style it differently) and water is never squeezed out when making it. The veggies will be quite soft, you will end up with a pile of mashed carrots and beets if you do. Just put the veggies in a colander an let them cool down there. By the time they are chilled there will be no excess water. Even a bowl will do it – excess water will drip down to the bottom.
Mila
I grew up eating the Russian version (with pickled herring) and it is my absolute favorite dish! (btw you can purchase boneless pickled herring at any Russian/European store). I love salmon and am very excited to try this recipe!
victor
Thank you for tip, Mila. I’ve tried it with the herring too but I like the salmon version a lot more. It just tastes a lot less fishy and not as salty.
Ron Pusateri
The Smoked Salmon Cake /Salad looks beautiful and I plan to make it for a dinner party that is about Cake/Salads. I’m curious what holds the cake slices together when you start cutting into wedges?
victor
Ron, it’s the mayo that holds all pieces in place when you cut the cake. Of course, make sure that you cut carefully. Also, when you make the layers make sure they are sufficiently compressed as loose layers will lead to problems when cutting the cake.
Bette Lebens
Just came across this while searching for smoked salmon recipes. You have totally hit one out of the park! Not often do I get this excited about trying a new recipe, really excited!
victor
Glad to hear it, Bette. I love this salad and make it often. You can get really creative with it too. I also like using cold smoked pickerel in place of salmon. Low sodium pickled herring is also great. Deboning herring is quite a chore though.
Stef
What an amazingly inspiring recipe. You deserve a 5 out of 5 for creativity. Well done.
victor
Thank you for the kind words, Stef.