Smoked Salmon With Fennel Salad

Some time during the month of June, I lost track of time. As I sat down to write this recipe, I had thought June had just begun but now it looks like we're on the last lap of the month. How did that happen? Well, at least, we finally have our weather. This morning, I went to look at my tomatoes & tomatillos and it's like they have grown overnight. Nice thick stems, beautiful verdant leaves and elegant little flower buds. (I especially love the smell spritzed into the air as I squeeze the suckers off my tomato plants. It is intoxicating like catnip for gardeners.) While the forecast for this summer is hot, I still cross my fingers for good weather and hopefully it will yield a bounty of highly rewarding, home-grown heirloom vegetables for summer eating.

Which brings me to this week's recipe... Outside of maybe barbeque, there is nothing that symbolizes summer eating more than a refreshing cool, crunchy salad. In our household, this week's salad is our current favourite. (Who can say no to smoked salmon?) It pairs feathery-thin fresh fennel with rich, smooth unctuous smoked salmon. It's a beautiful salad that can be piled high in a large bowl and gobbled up or it may be served elegantly on a long platter for dinner guests. Either way, it is delicious and does not require much effort.*

*Perhaps after you read this recipe, you will disagree, but I will disclose upfront that this recipe calls for shaved fennel. Therefore, it requires the use of some sort of kitchen gadget, I know. Although, shaving fennel may seem daunting and hardly worth it, believe me, it is worth it (and probably not as bad as you think once you get into it.) The papery slices of fennel stay crisp and crunchy but allows the vinaigrette to permeate creating a kind of "quick" pickle. It's an anise and citrus flavour explosion. Perfect for a hot day. Perfect paired with smoked salmon. Trust me. Worth the effort.


Shaved Fennel Salad With Smoked Salmon
Serves 4 as a starter (or 2 as a light lunch)

1/2 large fennel bulb (reserve some fennel fronds)
150 grams smoked salmon, sliced

1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper

1. In a large bowl, shave fennel into wispy thin slices. I use a benriner (or mandolin) but if you don't have one, slice fennel into thin pieces with a sharp knife.
2. On a large plate, lay out smoked salmon in a single layer.
3. In a medium sized jar, add Dijon, olive oil & lemon juice. Place lid on tightly and shake. Pour over fennel and toss. Add salt & pepper. Taste. Adjust seasonings as necessary then allow to fennel to marinate for at least ten minutes.
4. To serve, pile fennel high over smoked salmon. Sprinkle some of the reserved fennel fronds on top.

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Oh Canada!

If you've been living on a desert island, you may not be aware that the Winter Olympics are currently taking place in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. It's somewhat of a big deal here in Canada and admittedly, I do beam with pride when I see those gorgeous aerial shots of Vancouver and surrounds. It's a beautiful part of our country and I am glad that the rest of the world now knows about this magical and beautiful place.

Not only is Vancouver known for its spectacular natural beauty, it is also a mecca for cuisine. Some of Canada's best known restaurants and chefs are found in this city and food trends that eventually find themselves in Toronto often have their roots in Vancouver. With its close proximity to the sea, it is no wonder that Vancouver also boasts some of the best sushi outside of Japan. And if you are in search of seriously fresh fish and that connection to the people who "catch" your food, drive out to Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, to meet the fishing boats and inspect that morning's catch. You probably couldn't find fresher fish.

For this week's post, I thought I might do something Canadian inspired to celebrate the Olympics. While there isn't really a Canadian cuisine in the same way there is distinct French, Japanese or Italian food, I think the consensus is that Canadian cuisine is probably characterized by the use of our local produce and local flavours.

I came up with a dish that reflects the foods of this vast nation. From the West, there is nothing more reflective of BC than salmon, from the Prairies, I chose lentils (Did you know that Canada is the world's largest exporter of lentils?), and from the East, glorious maple syrup from Quebec.

The salmon is prepared very simply - it is pan seared until the skin crisps up and finished with a glaze of maple syrup from Oka, Quebec. Then it is laid a top of bed of lovely brown lentils. (For this dish, I prefer French lentils (when I can find them) as they keep their shape and don't shed their skins when cooked. Unfortunately, for this post, I could not find them and have substituted brown lentils. The texture is slightly different but still delicious nevertheless.)


Grilled Salmon with Warm Lentil Salad

1 lb Pacific center-cut salmon - cut into four portions (or if you are looking for larger portions, I would say 1/2lb per person)
1 c brown lentils (or Du Puy aka French lentils, if available)

1 lemon - zest & juice
1 1/2 tbsp capers
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp light olive oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
optional: maple syrup for finishing

1. Cook lentils according to package instructions. Do not overcook.
2. Meanwhile, roughly chop capers. Add to a large bowl along with lemon zest, juice, sugar & olive oil. Once lentils are cooked drain them well and add them to vinaigrette. Gently toss.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large pan on high heat. Turn down to medium-high and cook salmon skin side down until the skin is nicely browned and crisp. Carefully turn fish over and cook on the opposite side. Cook until medium - approximately 10 minutes.
4. Serve salmon immediately on a bed of warm lentils.

*If there is leftover lentil salad, it is delicious on its own with some crumbled goat cheese on top.

Go Canada Go!
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What To Do With... Salmon

Note: I just wanted to say "welcome" to Noble Pig readers - I received an honourable mention in the Superbowl recipe contest (over 1,000 submissions for the contest, so I am grateful for the mention. The recipe for the chili can be found here.)




I like fish a lot, I especially like it raw. In fact, sushi is one easily one of my favourite things. It’s the epitome of natural food: fresh, clean-tasting, and simple.

In this fine city, we have had an unfortunate proliferation of sushi restaurants which has lowered the quality of what passes for sushi around here. You can get sushi anywhere: at the grocery store and everyone and their brother has a sushi restaurant. But prepared in the traditional way,

sushi should be perfectly carved fish, delicately placed upon a petite mound of fresh moist sushi rice. By contrast, a fast food sushi restaurant or a sushi buffet seems like a contradiction. In Masaharu Morimoto's coffee table cookbook, The Art of Japanese Cooking, he discusses the long road to becoming a true sushi chef. Years of perfecting the art of making rice and honing knife skills before a sushi apprentice is allowed to even touch fish. This kind of patience and search for utter perfection is admirable, and is far from the fast food sushi that has become so prevasive. (I also wonder in this day of immediate gratification, how many people really embark on this long journey to sushi master.) This is one meal I never make at home because I really enjoy the pleasure of eating sushi prepared in a traditional way.

Since I don't make my own sushi I haven't presented sushi recipes for you, but here are three ways I like to eat salmon (both raw and cooked.) Enjoy!


Gravlax:

1 side of salmon (the freshest possible) about 3 lbs, 1 bunch of dill, approximately 1/4c white sugar, 1/2c salt, 3 tbsp black pepper

1. Wash fish well. Pat dry
2. Mix sugar, salt, black pepper
3. Liberally apply to flesh of fish
4. Wash and chop dill. Spread on top of fish (again flesh side)
5. Wrap fish well (that means tightly) with Glad Wrap
6. Place in a shallow glass/ceramic baking dish. Place a plate and a weight (a brick, large can, etc.) on top
7. Refrigerate. Every 12 hours or so, flip the fish over and continue to weight it down. You’ll notice the fish exudes liquid. This is a good sign. This process should take about 3 days or so
8. Remove fish from fridge, gently scrap off dill and salt/sugar mixture. Do not rinse.
9. Thinly slice fish and serve
10. Keep wrapped in fresh Glad wrap if you’re not using it all at once. It should keep for another 3 days or so

I usually serve this with poached eggs and hollandaise or in a bagel with cream cheese. Or you anyway you would eat smoked salmon (tossed in pasta, canapes, etc.)

Salmon Tartare:

Serves 4 as appetizers

Finely dice 2 fillets of fresh salmon. Snip about 4 tiny stalks of chive (do not substitute green onion)over top and toss gently with a small amount of sea salt and black pepper. Finely dice 1 avocado, squeeze half a lemon over the avocado. Plate tartare starting with the salmon using a ring mold, followed by the avocado. Carefully remove the ring and serve immediately.


But salmon is something I also enjoy cooked. Salmon is a fish that is moist and tender and best served slightly under done. Trust me. I love the contrast in texture and flavour: crusty and golden on the outside with a moist coral-coloured interior.


One of the best ways to cook a fillet of salmon is to crust it with sesame seeds. But be warned, if you want salmon perfection, this does require your full attention. I am normally all for multi-tasking, but please don’t read your mail, answer the phone, or anything else you might do when you’re making dinner. A focused ten minutes on this. That’s all I ask. Bon Appetit!

Sesame Encrusted Salmon:

Serves 2

4-5 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds (if you don’t have it, just add more white sesame seeds)
2 fillets of salmon – washed, and patted dry
2 tbsp vegetable oil/ light olive oil

1. Heat a large pan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil
2. Ensure the salmon is patted dry. Press the fish flesh-side down onto a plate of sesame seeds. Press firmly to ensure that the flesh is well covered
3. Drop 1 sesame seed into the heated pan. If it sizzles, place fillets sesame seed side down onto the pan.

Your fish should look like the picture above... Mostly cooked but with a cool center. In the photo above, I have served the salmon with a simple miso-umeboshi plum sauce.

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Meat, Cheese and Heat: Raclette is the Ultimate Weekend Dinner

For our wedding last summer, we received a raclette grill as a gift. (We love our friends and family!) We were thrilled to receive it but it gathered dust in our basement over the summer and the fall as we continued to use our barbeque.

We decided that over the Christmas holidays, it would be a great time for us to break out our raclette grill. So my husband bought about a kilo of raclette cheese from the cheesemonger in anticipation for a New Year’s Party that didn't happen. The cheese sat in our fridge this week and we decided that immediate intervention was required in order to make a dent in it.

So we celebrated the end of our first week at work with a relaxing and fun dinner. We poured ourselves some bubbly (also another remnant from our wedding) and fired up the indoor grill. We assembled platters of roast turkey, the hottest Genoa salami, pickled onions, gherkins, escargots, shrimp, cubes of salmon, quail eggs, sliced mushrooms, boiled baby potatoes and loads of shaved raclette cheese. Then we sat down to talk about the events of the past week as well as the next stage of our home renovations. (Oh dear...)

There is something truly sublime about oozy molten cheese. But it’s a balance: too much cheese and it is unctuous and unpleasant and too little, well then, what’s the point? But just the right amount and it is a luxurious and comforting.

Unlike fondue where you plunge cubes of bread and meats into hot oil or cheese, with raclette, you grill your seafood, meat and vegetable on the grill on top. Then you shovel them onto the tiny raclette pan, sprinkle cheese and slide it under the broiler below until the cheese is bubbly and golden.



The beauty of raclette is its simplicity: melted cheese over grilled vegetable, meat and seafood – few things are this easy to prepare and are this delicious. The preparation is also quite simple. In fact, it took us less than fifteen minutes to assemble our food for grilling. Then we spent about ninety minutes grilling, and nibbling. And of course, sipping champagne. (Wouldn't it be nice to live like this every day?)


Raclette Party

8 oz raclette cheese per person (I think you could probably use other cheeses you like – I think mozzarella, cheddar, emmental, gruyere may all work nicely.)

For grilling – some suggested items:
• cubes of salmon or beef
• peeled raw shrimp
• green onions, cut into two inch pieces
• sliced button mushrooms
• boiled mini potatoes, sliced in half
• cooked escargot (my husband’s request)
• quail eggs (we cook them in the mini raclette pan versus the grill)
(We grilled tomatoes, I don't recommend them because the liquid gets so hot that it's a tongue burner.)

For the side:
• deli meats: prosciutto, roasted turkey, hot salami
• cornichons
• pickled onions

Sparkling white wine or champagne is a great accompaniment because it is very bright and refreshing.