Whitefish Salad (Dairy-Free)

Years ago, before I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy and transitioned to a low-FODMAP diet free of wheat and garlic (due to IBS), I used to love slathering a toasted garlic bagel with creamy whitefish salad. In recent times, I’ve been craving whitefish salad but I knew I couldn’t use dairy and didn’t want to use mayonnaise. Thankfully, there are a number of delicious plant-based yogurts available; I used my favorite plain unsweetened cashewgurt from Forager Project for this recipe, but you could easily use an almond, soy, or coconut-based option. I served this with toasted slices of homemade Oats-n-Seeds Bread (no gluten or dairy; I omitted the whey powder and Stevia from the original recipe) and it was a success!

Thanks to Tori Avery for sharing the basics of preparing whitefish salad from a whole smoked fish.

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Whitefish Salad (Dairy-Free)

I had a craving for whitefish salad but I didn't want to use mayonnaise or dairy. This was my first time working with a whole smoked fish, and I'm quite happy with the results. This recipe is salty and smoky, with a great mix of fresh citrus and green onion.

Prep Time30 mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Jewish

Keyword: dairy-free, fish, sugar-free

Servings: 4

Calories: 283kcal

Author: planfulcook

Ingredients

• 2 lb whole smoked whitefish
• 2/3 cup non-dairy yogurt plain, unsweetened
• 2 tbsp fresh dill minced
• 2 tbsp green onion or chives minced
• 1 lemon freshly squeezed
• Kosher salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup celery minced (optional)

Instructions

• Purchase a whole smoked whitefish (approx. 2 lbs.) from your local grocer. If you can't find a whole fish, you can purchase fillets instead. If you purchase fillets, simply remove the skin and then skip to step 4.
  
• I followed these instructions to remove the meat from the bones of my whole whitefish: peel the skin from the whitefish; it should come off easily.
• On each side of the fish, you will see a center line running from tail to gill. Using a fork, pull the meat outward from that center line, following the diagonal grain of the meat; this will help you avoid the tiny bones that can get caught in the meat.
• Place the meat in a pile beside the fish. Flake it and put the small pieces into a mixing bowl, checking for bones with your fingers (discard any bones you find).
• Shred the meat even further with a fork and your fingers. Add your non-dairy yogurt, dill, green onion or chives, and celery (optional) to the fish and blend. Season with Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh lemon juice to taste.
• Serve with toast or a bagel with fresh tomato slices; atop a green salad; or stuffed in a fresh bell pepper. Enjoy!

Notes

I used Forager Project’s plain unsweetened cashewgurt for this recipe. Plan to eat this all within a few days; keep it in a sealed container in your fridge. Thanks to Tori Avery for providing the inspiration for this adapted recipe!