About three months ago I heard about a very interesting cookbook called Happy in the Kitchen by Michel Richard. I had never heard of him, but apparently Thomas Keller likes him and that’s good enough for me. Michel Richard was originally a pastry chef that switched crossed the line over to a “savory” chef. He takes the playful mindset a good pastry chef has and applies it to a variety of dishes. In the book, he has interesting ideas using Siran wrap and gently poaching fish and meat. I wasn’t feeling quite adventurous to try this new technique yet, so instead I tried the Asparagus Salmon. The problem with asparagus is the woody ends generally go unused. Either people don’t eat them, or they’re discarded before cooking. In this recipe, the woody ends are cut off and saved to be used in a vinaigrette (which turned out more like a puree), and the spears are used as a stuffing. Even though wild salmon isn’t in season yet, I decided it would be a fun dish to try on the weekend. I went to Gelson’s and asked for the thickest center cut fillets they had. I also bought two bunches of asparagus, mushrooms, and potatoes.
In this blog, I’m only going to talk about making the salmon, although I did attempt Richard’s potato risotto. Instead of using arborio rice, the recipe calls for juliennedand diced potatoes and is supposed to produce a dish almost identical to risotto. I wasn’t so successful. I either diced the potatoes too much, or used too much liquid. The potatoes ended up looking more like a puree. They tasted great, just didn’t look all the appetizing on the plate.
For the salmon, I started by breaking off the ends of the asparagus and peeling all but four of the spears. I steamed the spears for about 6 minutes, then dropped them in ice water to stop the cooking. After drying them, I rolled them in some minced tarragon. Then I dried off the salmon, sharpened my chef’s knife, and cut through the middle of the fillet leaving about an inch on each side of the cut. Finally, I shoved the spears in and cut the large filet into smaller ones. At this point the salmon was ready for the oven, and I went about preparing the sides.
After getting the rest of my ingredients organized (a kitchen philosophy refered to as mise en place, something that probably deserves a post of its own), I began putting everything together. I dropped the asparagus ends and the 4 reserved spears into a saucepan with some water and olive oil, brought it to a boil, covered the pot, and lowered it to a simmer. For simplicity, this probably should have been done while I was chopping up vegetables. I had preheated the oven to 350, or thereabouts. Our oven tends to be about 50 degrees off sometimes. I put the salmon in and set a timer for 15 minutes. Back to finishing the sauce. After about 8 minutes of cooking, the asparagus ends were tender. There was still a decent amount of water left, so I drained some of it. I was worried that it would dilute the sauce, but it probably wouldn’t have had a major impact. I transfered the spears and their cooking liquid to a blender and purreed until smooth. I poured this into a mixing bowl, added some sugar, lemon juice, salt and Dijon mustard and whisked until smooth.
The salmon didn’t look ready after 15 minutes, so I added another 5. I was wrong. The salmon would have been a nice medium rare to medium after that first 15. It still tasted good, but I would have liked it a little less cooked. To plate it, a spooned the asparagus puree onto a plate and set the salmon on top. At this point, I swear, everything looked good. Unfortunately, there wasn’t room for the sides, so I tried to fit them on. The risotto would have looked much better alongside a steak, but just didn’t look very appealing next to an already thick sauce. I enjoyed the salmon, and the roommates seemed to like it as well. The recipe can be found at The Early Show website, along with some other recipes from Happy in the Kitchen.
Asparagus Salmon
Serves 4 as a Main Course
Salmon:
24 large (about 2 pounds) asparagus spears
Fine sea salt
1 scant tablespoon coarsely chopped tarragon (optional)
An 8- to 9-inch piece (about 1 1/2 pounds) center-cut salmon filet
Extra virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel Freshly ground black pepper
Vinaigrette:
4 reserved asparagus spears (from above)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Granulated sugar
Fine sea salt
Trout caviar (optional)
Cut off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus spears, making sure to leave the asparagus as long as the salmon fillet, and set the trimmed ends aside for the vinaigrette. Reserve 4 unpeeled spears for the vinaigrette. With a vegetable peeler, peel the remaining asparagus spears from about an inch below the tip to the end of the spear. Set a steamer basket in a pot over boiling water. Place the peeled asparagus spears in the basket and steam for 5 to 6 minutes, or until just tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife; be careful not to overcook. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice water. When the asparagus is cooked, submerge it in the ice bath to cool, then drain and roll in a kitchen towel to dry.
Sprinkle the asparagus spears with a pinch of salt and the tarragon, if desired, and roll the spears back and forth so the tarragon adheres.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
To stuff the salmon: using a pair of tweezers or pliers, remove any pinbones. Try to pull them straight out rather than pulling them upward, which would tear the flesh of the fish. Beginning 1 inch from the side of the salmon, using a long sharp slicing knife, cut a pocket in the center of the fillet through the length of the salmon, leaving an inch of the fillet uncut on either side. Push the sides of the salmon together to help open up the pocket.
Line the pocket with a layer of asparagus, all the tips facing the same direction. Make a second layer, reversing the direction of the spears. Continue layering until you have used all the asparagus or until the pocket is filled; the number of layers will vary depending on the thickness of the fillet. It is important not to overstuff the pocket, which could tear the fish. Reserve any extra asparagus for another use. Carefully trim the ends of the salmon so that all the spears are flush with the edges of the salmon. (At this point the salmon can be covered and refrigerated for a few hours.)
Using a very sharp knife or an electric knife, holding the fillet steady with one hand, cut the fish crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Brush a baking pan with a film of olive oil. Place the fillets in the pan, drizzle the tops with olive oil, and season with fleur de sel and pepper.
For the vinaigrette, cut the 4 reserved asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Place in a small saucepan, add the water and olive oil, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is completely softened; the water should have evaporated so the asparagus is stewing in the oil.
Pour the asparagus and any remaining liquid into a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and whisk in the mustard, lemon juice, and a pinch of each sugar and salt. If using, stir trout caviar to taste into the vinaigrette.
Meanwhile, place the salmon in the oven and cook for 13 to 15 minutes, or until cooked to the desired doneness.
Using a long spatula, lift each piece of the salmon, blot the bottom as necessary with a paper towel, and place on a serving plate. Serve hot or at room temperature, with a pool of vinaigrette on the side of each fillet.
