Venice was wonderful and I only have only complaint: there is so much wheat everywhere! Of course nobody forced me to eat all that pizza, pasta, cicchetti and tramezzino, but there is something in the human nature called temptation…

So, this week has been about avoiding gluten. Tonight I prepared a salad that I improvised for my parents over Christmas: it includes salmon, vegetables and nuts, and I am pretty sure it would win the prize for the healthiest salad in the world. This is what it looks like and what you need for making it: 

Healthy Salmon Salad: 

Mix these ingredients in a big bowl:

• celery (raw, cut into slices)
• leek (raw, cut into slices)
• broccoli (boiled or raw, cut into chunks)
• flax seeds (I used crushed ones)
• walnuts (I used entire ones; they look prettier)
• garlic (crushed)

Add according to your taste:

• olive and nuts oil
• Herbes de Provence, oregano, dill, black pepper
• lots of fresh lemon juice
• a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar

Let them marinate for some time.

Next: I had salmon from our lake in Finland, brought to me by my parents before Christmas (Bringing a little bit of Finnish Christmas to Paris), so I baked an entire salmon in the oven, let it cool down, cut it into small chunks and added them to the salad when they were lukewarm. Alternatively, you could use cold smoked salmon (or any other smoked fish).

Lastly, depending on the type of fish you use, add salt. I sprinkled the salad with truffle-flavored salt, which gave it a very subtle final touch.

***

Lastly, following a common recommendation of French doctors, I suggest you eat the salad with a glass of white wine, ideally organic and French. I had vin primeur by Domaine La Grave, Coteaux de Peyriac (Hauts de Badens) (see Marriage of oysters and nouveau wine) but only your imagination is the limit!

Bon Appétit.

PS The wine glass is Finnish design by Tapio Wirkkala, 1952 (http://iittala.fi/web/Iittalaweb.nsf/fi/tuotteet_juominen_erikoisjuomat_tapio).