Recipe: Cold, Poached Salmon w/ Sauce Remoulade

It’s hot as a mutha down south these days. Hot, as in hovering close to 100F.

I am currently working on recipes for a magazine’s October issue which translates into autumnal inspired, afternoon-long, slow roasting of meats and nauseating, baked rice and cheese casseroles. Bleck…

All I want is a cold dinner. Not room temperature– ice-box cold. Along with a cold bottle of beer.

While I had the kitchen hot as hell this afternoon, I took the opportunity to make dinner. Poached salmon, an awesome sauce remoulade, tiny boiled potatoes and lemon-steamed asparagus.

All served chilled.

All chased with cold beer(s).

All eaten in my underwear.

If you do nothing else today, MAKE THIS SAUCE! It is great on any type of fish, prepared any way, or as an alternative to classic cocktail sauce for shellfish. Even good on grilled chicken.

Sauce Remoulade

1/2 ripe lemon, trim the ends off then use the whole thing, peel, seeds and all

1 cm slice red onion, or a small shallot

20 fresh tarragon leaves

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup good mayo (Hellmann’s, or if you can get it, Duke’s)

1 heaping tablespoon chopped gherkin

Cut the lemon into 1″ chunks, roughly chop the onion, then process everything in a food processor. Be careful not to cut your tongue on the blade as you lick the inside of the bowl.

Makes about 1 cup

Cold, Poached, Fresh and Smoked Salmon

Baby, this hits the spot on a hot day!

2 , six ounce wild salmon fillets, skin removed

4 to 6 ounces cold smoked salmon slices

Handful of chopped chives (optional)

Salt/pepper

Butcher’s twine

1) Lay the salmon out on a cutting board. The fillet needs to be the same thickness throughout. If it’s not, you’ll need to slice part of the fat end, not completely off, but as if you are making a flap, so that it flops over and the fillet is all uniform. Look at the picture to the left to see what I mean.

2) If the skin was removed and there is an ugly side, lay that side up on the cutting board, after you lightly salt and pepper the other side. Scatter some chives, then lay a few pieces of smoked salmon on the fillet. Now, roll the fillet into a parcel. Tie butchers twine around it to keep it held snug. Repeat process with the other fillet.

3) Bring a sauté pan filled with water or water and white wine, maybe an onion, too– up to a simmer. Carefully slide the salmon parcels in. If the water does not cover the fish, cover the pan. Bring back to a simmer and cook GENTLY for about 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness, but it is tough to screw this dish up, so don’t worry.

4) Remove the fish parcels and allow to cool at room temp for 20 minutes, then place on a plate, covered in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, snip the butcher’s twine off, slice into pretty slices and serve with that AWESOME SAUCE REMOULADE.

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