Poached Salmon with Herb Cream Sauce

Finally! Another recipe. Like May, June has been a month busy with work and other things.

The following recipe is an adaptation of a Cook's Illustrated recipe, which used slightly different proportions and some different ingredients.

Okay, a few pointers:

• Poaching: What is it? There are a few varieties, but the type used in this recipe is called "shallow poaching." That is cooking something in a shallow, wide pan such that the thing is surrounding, but not submerged in liquid. It combines direct contact with liquid with steaming. Other forms of poaching involved full submersion, and can create equally tasty results (e.g., a stew is akin to a full-submersion poach.
  
• Don't overcook the salmon. Salmon, when cooked just right, has a lovely, almost velvety texture. Depending on the thickness and the poaching temperature, I do not recommend anything more than about 15 minutes.
  
• Go easy on the dijon: I happened to eyeball it, and it was waaaaay too dijony and acidic. Please measure.
  
• Go easy on the white wine: Again, you don't want too much acidity
• Go easy on the lemon juice: Do I sound like a broken record?
• If you can, find a cut of salmon that has even thickness. Sometimes the prepackaged stuff is this way, but more likely it is not. Ask you butcher for an even cut - really, they won't mind. An even cut is important because it means that the meat will all be done at the same time. As mentioned above, overdone salmon isn't really worth eating.
  

Else than that? Ummm... I think that is about it. Anyways, here is the recipe! Enjoy!

2 lemons
2 shallots, minced (about 4 tablespoons)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
1 skinless salmon fillet (1 - 1 1/2 lbs), about 1 1/2 inches at thickest part
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons fresh oregano and basil, minced
Salt and ground black pepper


Cut top and bottom off 1 lemon; cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut remaining lemon into 8 wedges and set aside. Arrange lemon slices in single layer across bottom of 12-inch skillet. Scatter 2 tablespoons minced shallots evenly over lemon slices. Add wine and water.

Place salmon fillet in skillet, skinned-side down, on top of lemon slices. Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sides are opaque but center of thickest part is still translucent (or until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125 degrees), 11 to 16 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, using spatula, carefully transfer salmon and lemon slices to a plate and tent loosely with foil.

Return pan to high heat and simmer cooking liquid until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl; discard solids. Return strained liquid to skillet; whisk in Dijon mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons shallot. Simmer over high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in cream and juice from 1 reserved lemon wedge; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and the minced herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Season salmon lightly with salt and pepper. Using spatula, carefully lift and tilt salmon fillets to remove lemon slices. Place salmon on serving platter or individual plates and spoon sauce over top. Serve, passing reserved lemon wedges separately.

Pasta with Olives, Garlic, and Herbs

Well, I've FINALLY gotten around to cooking something new! Between being sick and starting a new job, and being out of town a lot has meant that I've barely done anything besides work, practice at my martial arts dojo, and spend time with my girlfriend. Whew! Anyways, on to the cooking...

This week's (or it is month's?) recipe hosts a array of classic Mediterranean flavors - garlic, olives, anchovy, parmesan, olive oil, and more! I mean, this recipe seriously has it all. Here are a few tips:

(1) Use great bread for the bread crumbs. Americans have this admittedly understandable, but truly awful (and literally tasteless) habit of using packaged breadcrumbs out of a cardboard cylinder. You know what I'm talking about! Those blue containers at the grocery store that have "original" and "italian" flavored breadcrumbs. Well, be gone bad, cardboardy, and flavorless little devils of the grocery aisle! Instead, buy the BEST bread you can find and make the breadcrumbs yourself! It's easy. Here are some simple instructions:

• Cut the crumbs into thin slices and toast each one until totally dry. Just to be safe, let it sit out over night or for a few days so they are nicely are crunchy.
  
• Then, pulse them in a food processor until you get crumbs of the right size. If, by the way, you are using bread that is really crusty (e.g., a well-made baguette), then it works better if you pulse the crust separately form the interior (aka the "crumb" of the bread). The reason why is that the crush, being physically harder, will take more pulses.
  
• Also, don't just run the food processor continuously. If you do, the bread crumbs have a tendency to overheat and get rubbery, which defeats the whole purpose of making bread crumbs that retain their crunchy texture.
  

And that's it! A few easy tips to deliciously wonderful breadcrumbs!

(2) Suck it up and buy salt-packed anchovies. First, a LOT of people when they hear of anchovies go, "ewwww! i'll just leave those out..." Well, that is hands-down the biggest mistake you could make for this recipe, or just about any other that calls for anchovies. Anchovies, when used judicially, add an amazing, smoky, briny flavor that don't can't be replicated. Also, they don't taste fishy, especially when cooked into something (e.g., a few fillets are wonderful cooked in a tomato sauce). But, there's a catch - don't buy them unless they are packed in (a) olive oil, preferably extra-virgin, or (b) even better, salt. If you can find them, salt-packed anchovies are well worth the extra dollar or two they'll cost. They are always the best quality.

(3) The lemon in this recipe is key. As an acidic agent, it adds a wonderful balance to the heaviness of the oil. (this is the same reason people add vinegar or lemon juice to vinaigrettes - it cuts through the oilyness, making the dressing taste lighter).

(4) Grilled chicken might work well here. I didn't try it, but I suspect that grilled chicken breast that has been marinated for a few hours in olive oil, white wine, dijon, herbs, garlic, and black pepper would be delicious with this recipe, and provide some protein.

Anyways, here is the recipe! It is an adaptation of a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I like. It serves 4-6.

5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp minced anchovy fillets
1 Tbsp tomato paste
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into thin strips
1 cup pitted garlic-marinated green olives, rinsed and coarsely chopped
2 oz bread crumbs from really, really good bread
1 3/4 tsp salt
3/4 lb mezze rigatoni or farfalle
2 oz finely grated parmiggiano-reggiano
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Combine 3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp garlic, anchovies, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the remaining garlic and 3/4 tsp salt. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant and bread crumbs are dark golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the crumb mixture to a plate to cool. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add the pasta and remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt. While the pasta is cooking, return the now empty skillet to medium heat and add the olive mixture. Cook until the olive mixture is aromatic and the oil has turned rusty red, 4 to 6 minutes longer. Remove 3/4 cup of the pasta water from the pot and add to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat while the pasta finishes cooking.

When the pasta is just shy of al dente, drain the pasta, and transfer back to the Dutch oven. Add the olive mixture and toss over medium heat until the pasta absorbs most of the liquid, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the parmiggiano. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the parsley, basil, and black pepper.

Serve immediately with the lemon, remaining parmiggiano, and the bread crumbs.