What is a good lemon flavored side dish to serve with salmon?

There is the school of culinary arts that says a beautiful salmon must be served (sauced or not) with lemon wedges.

The salmon is the hero;the side dishes are the cohorts

Fresh asparagus with lemon butter.

Thinly sliced cucumbers with sour cream and snippets of fresh dill.

Another cuke salad

Personally, I would serve brown rice (with pine nuts and parsley) with fish.

Or, lemon sherbet with crisp cookies for dessert.

Asparagus cooked in lemon is the easiest, and imo the best.

Yes @tedd Asparagus is my favorite with salmon.
I’d then opt for a lemon cheesecake or pie, sherbert etc. as a complementary dessert.
I can’t remember the brand name but I had the most wonderful lemon sorbet recently with lemon cake. To die for!

@gailcalled Had to be one of the few vegetables I hate, along wih cauliflower, brussels sprout and broccoli. Strange enough, I love cabbage and spinach. But I was really looking for a more starchier side dish. One of the people I’m feeding has a hollow leg. LOL

Greek potatoes have lemon in them. Do your own fried potatoes and toss them with lemon juice and lemon zest, to taste. Salmon is also good with creamed veggies of any kind.

I’d go with lemon rice.

I just had some delicious lemon gnocchi. It was the side to black bass. They pan seared it after boiling to give it a nice brown crust. I have a recipe that I can link for you if you want. If you want starchy this is delicious albeit a bit heavy.

Meyer Lemon Gnocchi

How about steaming some broccoli with lemon juice and serving it with a tartar sauce dip?

@earthgirl, Yum that sound really good. I ran out of time and decided to go with a quick recipe
I found on line. Let sliced potatoes sit in lemon water and then boil, then drain and add oregano, some more lemons. garlic and olives along with the water from the olives and some olive oil. Shred some fresh parmesan cheese and then let it bake till either cheese is melted or a little crispy. I also threw some extra lemon juice on it before baking. It was all so good and complemented the salmon.
The lemon gnocchi sounds really rich. Thanks I will try that one next time.

Oh, @sunny actually suggested it. it was Greek Potatoes. It was yummy.

How about a pasta? Farfalle or linguine with a little olive oil or butter, salt, parsley and lemon juice and lemon zest. You could do dill instead of parsley maybe? I never use dill on pasta, but I love it with salmon.

Or, just thinking more, you could do an orzo with spinach, olive oil, lemon juice and a little lemon zest. Then it looks more like a rice which I think is more typical with fish.

Another idea is a lemon mustard dressing, I think it is one tablespoon dijon, one tablespoon lemon juice, and two tablespoons oil, but I need to double check in my recipe book if you seriously consider it. Anyway, the dressing goes well on romaine lettuce, calamata olives, tomatoes, cucs, and you can put some cheese on it, maybe feta? I hate cheese on salad so I am not good with those suggesstions. It isn’t a hot dish though, but thought I would throw it out there.

Last one, tabouli. Usually made with lemon and mint. I don’t have a recipe for it though. I have bought it by Near East brand I think? The one that makes cous cous.

@Pandora: Interesting choice. I’m glad everyone liked it. The thought of potatoes with cheese in this heat makes me wilt, however.

Here are one set of ratios for a mustard/ Dijon vinaigrette.

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

And Martha Stewart’s, which I prefer because it has more Dijon.

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 medium garlic clove, minced (optional)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pan fry Salmon till golden brown then finished in the oven top/marinated in heavy sweet baby rays bbq sauce while its baking. Served over a bed of white rice. Don’t be afraid to skip the utensils. Eat with your hands. Delicious!!

@Pandora The potatoes recipe sounds really good!
Believe it or not, even though gnocchi is not the lightest dish in the world, without a heavy sauce and in small portion sizes as a side dish it’s not that heavy either. I’d say the portion I was served in the restaurant was about ¾ cup of gnocchi. Iit was a nice counterpoint in flavor and texture. The fish was served on a bed of braised swiss chard and there was a drizzle of Raspberry creme sauce on the plate. It was an interesting combination of flavors.
I have made homemade gnocchi once. I used Lidia Basitanich’s recipe and it was a little time consuming but not difficult. Homemade gnocchi is light as long as you don’t overwork the dough. It’s much lighter than the dense frozen pellets you buy in the frozen food section. If you want to save time I would buy the gnocchi from a place that sells fresh pasta.

Fresh steamed artichoke hearts that are then pan seared in lemon juice and butter glaze. Sprinkle with a bit of minced fresh dill fern.

@Neizvestnaya I love artichoke hearts! That sounds good and I think the dill is the perfect accent. It will marry well with the salmon.

@Neizvestnaya Interesting enough, I have never tried artichoke. One of these days I must try it but in a restaurant, so I know it is prepared correctly.

@Pandora: Artichokes are easy, especially if you want the heart and not the leaves. Get a spaghetti pot, a steamer basket and a pot lid. Steam 3 chokes for a half hour and then stick a wooden skewer up one of the stems to see if its tender. If yes then pull off all the leaves, scrape the fuzzy part away and cut the hearts into quarters. I like to cut and keep the stem stubs but they don’t make as pretty as a presentation.

@Neizvestnaya How can you leave the leaves behind? I love the whole choke, minus the hair and pointy bits. They are easy, @Pandora. Follow @Neizvestnaya‘s advice, but be sure to scrape off the meaty bottoms of the leaves with your teeth, too. Yum!

Why go to the bother of cleaning and steaming an artichoke if you are not going to eat the tender tips of the leaves?

And interestingly, it is delicious without the lemon butter. And very good for calorie counting because by the time you have finished, the meal is over.

Before reading through everyone else’s answers, my first thought was of some type of grain dish like Lemon Leek Barley Risotto

Or a warm pasta dish like Lemon Orzo with Pinenuts

Or a mess o’greens like Kale Salad with Lentils and Lemon/Tahini Dressing

@Kardamom every one of those dishes sounds really good to me!

For the people who assumed I’d get rid of the delicious leaves, nope- I put those aside for myself and serve the hearts as a side dish. If it were just a few people for casual or a picnic, hands-on, no prob!