Archive

ITALIAN RECIPES

Salmon Recipes

Salt Roasted Salmon with Herbs

Ingredients:

A fresh salmon fillet weighing about 2 1/4 pounds (1 k)
2 pounds (1 k) koarse kosher salt -- you won't need all of it
2 egg whites (optional)
A finely sliced lemon, organically grown if possible
The grated zest of half of another organically grown lemon, yellow part only
A small bunch parsley, minced
A few sprigs wild fennel, minced (if you can't find it, don't use fennel seeds)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary needles
Other chopped herbs you like -- for example, a little fresh dill

Preparation:

Select a fillet that is of uniform width and as uniform thickness as possible; the flesh should be compact and uniform salmon pink.
Come time to prepare your salmon, preheat your oven to 450 F (225 C).

Using a sharp, long-bladed knife, cut the salmon in half lengthwise to obtain two sheets (as it were) of salmon. Remove any spines you see with a pair of tweezers.
Next, sprinkle the chopped herbs uniformly over the lower sheet (the one with the skin) and place the upper sheet over it. Lay the lemon slices over the upper sheet to cover the meat.

Line a roasting pan large enough to comfortably contain the fish with oven parchment, and sprinkle a half-inch (1 cm) layer of salt over it. Carefully lay the fish on the salt, and sprinkle it with another half-inch layer of salt.

You can, if you want, moisten the salt you sprinkle over the fish, but it's not necessary to do so. You can also, if you want the crust to be firmer, beat 2 egg whites and combine them with the salt you put over the fish.

In any case, put the fish into the hot oven and roast it for about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and bring it to the table: Break the crust with the backof a heavy knife before your guests (or guest) and remove the pieces to reveal the salmon fillet below.

In terms of accompaniments, I might go with a delicate tossed salad, or a little spinach, and bubbly. Definitely bubbly, and I'd probably think about either Franciacorta, or a sparkling Gavi, or a sparkling Lugana. Champagne will also work, if you must.
Serves 4.

Salt-Roasted Salmon with Dill Recipe

Ingredients:

2 salmon fillets weighing about 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) each, with their skins (see note)
2 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
A few sprigs of chives, chopped
The grated zest of an organically grown lime
1/3 cup mayonnaise
About 4 1/2 pounds (2 k) coarse marine or kosher salt
2/5 cup heavy cream, chilled
Thinly sliced lemon, organic if possible (if the fillets are of different sizes)

Preparation:

To begin, the note: the two fillest should be of the same size in this recipe, ideally the opposing sides of a salmon cut crosswise. If you have fillets from two different fish, get them as close in size as possible.
This said, preheat your oven to 500 F (250 C).

Take an oven dish and put down a 3/4-inch (2 cm) layer of salt. Set one of the fillets on it, skin side down. Sprinkle the dill, chives, and lime zest over the fish, and cover the fillet with the second fillet, putting it skin-side up.

If the two fillets are the same side, fine. If the larger underlying fillet extends beyond the edges of the overlying fillet, cover the exposed flesh with pieces of thinly sliced lemon.
When you have stacked the fillets, cover the fish with a uniform 3/4-inch layer of salt and roast it for 40 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the mayonnaise and lime juice in a bowl. Whip the cream lightly, fold it into the sauce, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap, and set it to chill in the refrigerator.
When the salmon is done break the crust, free the fish from the salt, and serve it, with its sauce and a crisp, flavorful white wine. I'd be tempted by a Chardonnay from Friuli's Collio.
Serves 4.

Plank Grilled Salmon Steaks

Ingredients:

4 salmon steaks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard
2 teaspoons black pepper
salt to taste
1 untreated cedar or alder wood plank soaked in water

Preparation:

Preheat grill. Combine olive oil, mustard, black pepper and salt. Spread evenly over both sides of the salmon steaks.
Place salmon steaks on plank that has been soaking in water for at least 30 minutes. Place on grill and cook over medium heat until salmon is done. About 20 to 30
minutes. To check for doneness, take a fork and lightly flake the thickest part of the fish. If it flakes easily and the meat has a consistent color all the way through, the fish is done.
Serves 4.

Salmon in Pastry

Ingredients:

A fresh salmon weighing about 4 1/2 pounds (2 k)
3 1/3 pounds (1.5 k) puff pastry dough (store-bought or home made)
2 egg yolks
Unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Scale the salmon, clean it, and remove all of the fins except the tail fin. Skin one side.
Preheat your oven to 460 F (230 C).
Butter a pan large enough to hold the fish.

Roll the dough out enough that it can easily wrap around the fish and set the sheet in the pan, lining one of the edges up with one of the sides of the pan.
Lay the fish on the dough, with the skin-side down. Lightly salt the fish, inside and out, and pepper the cavity.

Cut the sheet of dough around the fish, leaving a margin of about an inch, and cover the fish with the section of the sheet you cut free. Crimp the edges of the top and bottom sheets, and brush the seam with one of the yolks.

Decorate the upper sheet of dough as you see fit, for example by making leaves from the leftover dough cuttings, and when you are done brush the upper crust with the remaining yolk, lightly beaten. You can also, if you want, nick the dough to indicate portion sizes.
Roast the fish for about an hour. Remove it from the oven, and cut it into portions, following the nickes if you made them.

Each portion will consist of a piece of fish and the upper crust, while the salmon skin and lower crust should remain in the pan (you may need to use a spatula to separate the fish from the skin).

Buon appetito!

10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410