There’s so many Georgia summertime favorites in this Smoked Trout and Grilled Green Tomato Salad. I mean, what’s not to love? You’ve got smoky rainbow trout, tart green tomatoes and sweet Vidalia onions. And if you haven’t tried my Roasted Tomato Dressing yet, have you even truly lived???! It’s creamy. It’s tangy. It’s a full on tomato celebration.
Feel Good Vibes
Protein rich smoked trout gives this salad main character energy, so move over grazing board, salad season is here.
Green tomatoes, lettuce, and Vidalia onion add fiber and juicy, skin nourishing hydration, plus a range of seasonal produce nutrients.
Aged Gouda brings the calcium, protein, vitamin K2 and B12 to support bone health, nerve function and red blood cell formation.
Ingredient Substitutions
- No bacon: toasted pecans, pine nuts or croutons
- No Vidalia onion: sweet white onion or red onion
- No green tomato: zucchini, squash or eggplant
- No smoked GA trout: smoked salmon
- No Roasted Tomato Dressing: this creamy Parmesan Dressing
- No aged gouda: shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Atlantans, I’m a big fan of Diana’s Specialties smoked trout. You can find a list of retailers who sell their local Georgia smoked trout here. I’m a big fan of the Floral Park Market myself.
- Vidalia onions are very special onions that hail from Vidalia, Georgia. They are known for being exceptionally sweet and mild flavored. They are typically available from late April through August in most major grocery stores.
- Green tomatoes are easy to come by at your local farmers market during the summer months. I’ve also spotted them in Publix supermarkets in July, August and September.
- To properly wash your salad greens, fill a large bowl with cold water. Submerge the greens and agitate them until all the dirt is washed off. Remove the greens from the water and use a salad spinner to dry them, or lay them on a clean towel and let them air dry for 15 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
- Odds are good you’re checking this recipe out during Vidalia onion season, so you should definitely check out this Vidalia Onion Party Dip.
- If you’re looking for another salad that really captures the essence of summertime, check out my Tomato & Peach Caprese. It’s a banger.
- Once you fall in love with this Roasted Tomato Dressing, you can use it to make this Spinach and Arugula Salad.
Storage and Shelf Life
Make Ahead: The Roasted Tomato Dressing can definitely be made ahead of time, up to 5 days in advance. Bacon, grilled Vidalias and green tomatoes can be cooked and held in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Refrigerate: These salad components can be prepped in advance and stored in the fridge separately. Once the lettuce is dressed, it won’t hold up in the refrigerator.
Freezer: A salad?! Eww, no.
Final Thoughts
When it gets hot enough to fry an egg on the roof of your garden shed, it’s salad season. Fresh, vibrant, seasonal produce is what we’re talking about here, people.
Simple preparations like this Smoked Trout and Grilled Green Tomato Salad will fill you up with all the summer feels and get you back out there enjoying your summer before that sun sets.
Have you tried this recipe yet? If so, tell us how it turned out in the comments below. I hear that leaving positive comments on recipe websites is an easy way to bank some good karma. And don’t forget to sign up for the Everyday Alchemy newsletter here.
Smoked Trout and Green Tomato Salad
Special Equipment
- cast iron skillet or grill
Ingredients
- 2 slices thick bacon cut into small strips
- 1 Vidalia onion ½ inch slices
- 1 green tomato ½ inch slices
- 1 roasted pepper red, yellow or orange, sliced into bite sized pieces
- 1 small head lettuce washed and chopped
- ½ cup Roasted Tomato Dressing
- 1 fillet smoked Georgia trout about 6 ounces
- ½ cup aged Gouda crumbled
- Sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place 2 slices of bacon cut into small strips into a small, cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium, and cook until the bacon is crispy and the fat is rendered, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Drain the fat and put the bacon on a paper towel. Reserve the fat for another use, if desired.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Slice a Vidalia onion into ½ inch slices, and cook in a single layer on both sides until slightly charred, about 3 minutes per side, no need for oil. Place in a metal or glass bowl and cover with a lid, allowing to steam while you cook the other vegetables.
- Repeat the process with a green tomato sliced into ½ inch thick pieces.
- Mix together in a large bowl: Cut the grilled onions and tomato into bite size chunks. Slice a roasted pepper into bite size pieces. Add a small head of washed and chopped lettuce to the bowl and dress with ⅓ of a cup of the Roasted Tomato Dressing, and add the rest if desired. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Garnish with a crumbled fillet of smoked trout (skin removed) and ½ cup crumbled aged Gouda cheese.
Hi, I’m Julia.
I’m a chef and wellness advocate passionate about helping others live well through nourishing food. I trained at the Culinary Institute of America and now work as a personal chef and community food advocate in Atlanta.
Want to know what inspired me to start Everyday Alchemy? Click the link icon below to read more.