This easy salad was created way back in 2011 for What’s Up Downunder, an Australian travel television show celebrating all things caravanning and camping that airs on Network Ten and One HD.
See show

Salad of smoked trout with quinoa
- Author: Samantha Gowing
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
This is one of those great recipes you can throw together when there’s not much in the fridge, so it’s always worth having a smoked trout on hand – they keep well – if not just use great quality tinned tuna.
Ingredients
1 cup white quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1 smoked trout skin peeled off, shredded
1/2 cup tamari flavoured almonds, halved lengthwise
4 cornichons or small gherkins, sliced
4 small pickled onions
1/2 cup kalamata or lemon myrtle olives, pitted
1/2 cup semi dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sprouts
Dressing
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup macadamia or extra virgin olive oil
Cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Place quinoa in a saucepan and cover with 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently without the lid until nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Cover pot with a folded tea towel and then place lid so as to absorb remaining liquid and the quinoa has started to split from the husk and become slightly translucent. Fluff it with a fork.
- In the meantime, prepare dressing by combining vinegar, salt and pepper and then drizzling in extra virgin olive oil while whisking. Set aside.
- In another bowl, flake the trout by gently pulling it away from the bone. Add the almonds, cornichons, onions, olives and semi dried tomatoes.
- Add cooked quinoa and combine with salad, then gently toss with dressing and serve.
Notes
This recipe was originally created for a segment on What’s Up Down Under TV with Frankie J Holden, which you can see above. The shoot was at Hastings Point, about 25 minutes north of Byron Bay on a very windy weekend morning. Frankie J was just hilarious and we had a ball together!
I’ve swapped the original couscous for quinoa, which works just as well. That’s the thing about quinoa, you can dress it up or down, make it sweet or savoury and it always works well. It’s highly nutritious and you can check out the healing properties in older recipe posts. This is one of those great recipes you can throw together when there’s not much in the fridge, so it’s always worth having a smoked trout on hand – they keep well – if not just use great quality tinned tuna.
- Prep Time: 20
- Category: Fish
- Method: Salad
- Cuisine: Modern Australian