Seared salmon, pea purée, sauce vierge.
Having been served awful salmon for years, I was under the impression I didn’t like it very much until about 6 months ago. Not really being one for fussy eating, I decided to give it a go again over the summer, and completely changed my mind. For me, salmon (and fish in general) should be served less than well done. For some people, cooked through, flaky salmon is the way to go, but it doesn’t do anything for me, so I serve it ‘rare’. I’m also a big fan of crisp skin, and can’t understand people who take it off and throw it away, or serve it floppy and chewy. To go with it, Sauce Vierge and a pea purée. Sauce Vierge is a punchy olive oil based sauce with plenty of fresh herbs and tomatoes that work well with the salmon.
Pea purée
This will make more than you need, but goes well with all sorts of things and keeps well in the fridge.
300g Peas
500ml Water
50g Unsalted butter
Bring the water to the boil, and add a few good pinches of salt. Add the peas and cover with a lid, bringing it back to the boil as fast as possible. Check the peas after a minute, and then every 15-30 seconds until they are soft but not mushy or overcooked. The goal here is to retain freshness. Once cooked, drain the peas and reserve the cooking water. Add them to a blender with enough of the water to come up ¾ of the way up the peas. It’s important to keep everything hot here, as hot ingredients will blend to a smoother texture. Press the pulse button a few times to get the blender acclimatised to the temperature, then blend on full power for 1 minute, adding knobs of butter as you go. Pass the purée through the finest sieve you have, and throw away what can’t be pressed through with a ladle. Rinse the sieve and pass it through again. Check the seasoning.
Sauce Vierge
100ml Good quality olive oil
6-8 Cherry or plum tomatoes
5-6 Large basil leaves
Lemon juice
2 or 3 Coriander seeds
Put the oil in a saucepan over a very low heat and add the coriander seeds with a pinch of salt. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, then remove them and place them under gently running cold water. This should blister and tear the skins, enabling you to remove them. Halve the skinned tomatoes and add to the oil. Finely chop the basil leaves and add to the sauce just before serving, along with a few drops of lemon juice, check the seasoning.
Salmon
2 salmon steaks
Tablespoon of Vegetable/Sunflower oil
25g Butter
5 or 6 Little Gem lettuce leaves.
Run a knife at an angle over the skin side of the steaks to remove any remaining scales. Don’t press too hard or damage the fish. Once the scales have been removed, rinse and carefully dry the steaks. Now run a knife one way down the skin, turn and then pull it back. This squeezes moisture out of the skin, then ‘squeegees’ it off the top, enabling the skin to properly crisp. So press fairly hard, then pull back gently to remove excess moisture, repeat 4 or 5 times, finally drying the whole steak with kitchen paper/tea towel. Make three cuts in the salmon skin, cutting about ½ a cm into the flesh. Season with good quality salt. For me, salmon doesn’t need black pepper.
Bring a frying pan (non-stick is best here) to a medium high heat, and add vegetable/sunflower oil. Add the salmon skin-side down and don’t touch it for 2 and a half to 3 and a half minutes depending on the thickness of the steaks. Turn them over carefully, add the butter and baste the steaks with the butter and pan juices for 30-45 seconds. Take the salmon out and rest for a minute. Pour away the majority of the fat from the pan, then add the lettuce leaves and a tablespoon of water and cook until wilted.
Place a large spoon of pea purée on the plate, and then the wilted lettuce and the salmon steak on top (served skin-side up), add the Sauce Vierge and a few extra small basil leaves.