James Beard's New Fish Cookery (20 page)

BRAISED SALMON BURGUNDIAN

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, cut in strips

1 carrot, cut in thin strips

3 sprigs parsley

1 leek, cut in strips

8 tablespoons butter

Salt

6 to 8 pounds salmon

1 quart (or more) red wine

1 teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

18 small white onions

3 tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms

Place the sliced onions, celery, carrot, parsley, and leek in the bottom of a large fish cooker or braising pan with 5 tablespoons of the butter and let it cook over medium heat until wilted down. Salt the salmon inside and out and place it on this bed of vegetables. Add red wine to half the height of the fish and add the thyme and bay leaf. Let just come to a boil. Cover the fish with a piece of cooking parchment and place it in a 425° oven for 10 minutes per inch thickness, according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 11). Meanwhile, brown the onions in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and let them cook through in a covered pan. Sauté the mushrooms lightly and season to taste.

Baste the fish in the oven from time to time. When it is cooked, arrange it on a hot platter and surround it with the onions and mushrooms. Strain the sauce, and if you wish it thickened, add beurre manié (page 475). Taste for seasoning and serve it separately. Plain boiled potatoes go well with this dish.

BRAISED SALMON IN WHITE WINE

Red Wine is an important ingredient in the previous recipe. Is there really much difference when you use white wine? Definitely yes. The whole principle is different, the trimmings are different, and so is the flavor.

Finely cut onions, celery, carrot, leek, parsley (see previous recipe)

Butter

5 to 7 pounds of salmon

Fish stuffing (pages 39–41)

White wine

1/2 pound mushrooms

1 pound shrimp

1 cup cream
or
Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26)

Beurre manié (page 475)

Prepare the vegetables and smother them in butter as in the preceding recipe. Stuff the fish with the fish stuffing and sew it or secure with skewers and twine. Place it on the bed of vegetables and add white wine to half the height of the fish. Bring it to a boil, cover the fish with parchment paper and place in a 350° oven. Cook according to the Canadian cooking theory for braising (page 11), basting the fish often.

Sauté the mushrooms in butter. About 5 minutes before the fish is done, add the shrimp to the pan juices. At the end of the cooking time, remove the fish to a hot platter and surround it with the shrimp and mushrooms. Strain the sauce and reduce it to 1 cup. Add the cream and thicken with beurre manié. If you prefer, you may serve this with Hollandaise sauce.

BRAISED SALMON À L’AMÉRICAINE

Here we are back to an old friend, sauce à l’Américaine (page 28), which, except for Hollandaise, is probably the greatest fish sauce in the world.

Prepare one recipe of shrimp à l’Américaine (see page 456) and let it stand for an hour or so. Meanwhile prepare braised salmon in white wine as in the preceding recipe. When the salmon is cooked, remove it to a hot platter and surround it with the shrimp à l’Américaine. This dish is sometimes served with the Hollandaise sauce or the white wine sauce from the pan juices, but to my taste it actually doesn’t need anything in addition to the sauce à l’Américaine.

Be sure to serve rice with this.

PAPRIKA SALMON

1 tablespoon paprika

Flour

4 salmon steaks

Salt

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup white wine

11/2 cups sour cream

Mix a little paprika with the flour and dip the salmon steaks in the mixture. Sauté them quickly in butter according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Season with salt. Remove the steaks to a hot platter. Add the wine to the pan, stir it around to mix well, and let it cook down to 1/4 cup. Add the sour cream and additional paprika, blending it well, and heat through, but do not let it boil. Taste for seasoning and pour over the salmon steaks. Serve with rice.

NEW ENGLAND BOILED SALMON IN EGG SAUCE

There is a tradition in classic New England cuisine that the Fourth of July opens the season for eating new potatoes, new peas, and summer salmon. The new potatoes must be the small ones, cooked in boiling water until just tender, then drenched with butter, salt, pepper, and a fine sprinkling of chopped parsley. The peas are smothered in wet lettuce leaves, with a large lump of butter, and cooked just long enough to make them tender without dulling their brilliant green. The salmon:

4 to 6 pounds salmon

Salt

3 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

2 slices lemon

Egg Sauce

2 cups sauce béchamel (page 23)

2 hard-cooked eggs

Garnish

Lemon slices

Parsley

Wash the salmon and wrap it in a piece of cheesecloth or folded strip of foil, leaving the ends long enough so that you can easily lift it in and out of the pan. Heat 2 to 3 quarts of water mixed with salt and the other seasonings. Bring it to the boiling point and let it boil for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat until the water is barely simmering, add the salmon, and simmer it for 15 to 20 minutes. It generally takes 6 to 8 minutes per pound. Do not overcook it or it will be mushy.

Serve the salmon with egg sauce made by mixing coarsely chopped hard-cooked eggs with the sauce béchamel. If you like it that way, make your béchamel with some of the fish stock. Garnish the platter with lemon slices and parsley.

POACHED SALMON WITH VARIOUS SAUCES

Poach any salmon, from 1 pound to an entire fish, in any of the court bouillons listed on pages 18–20, allowing 10 minutes cooking time per inch of thickness. Serve poached salmon with:

1. Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26)

2. Sauce Béarnaise (page 26)

3. Béchamel or velouté made with fish stock (pages 21, 23)

4. Egg and parsley sauce (page 23)

5. Sauce rémoulade (page 35)

6. Sauce gribiche (pages 36–37)

7. Duxelles (page 27)

8. Lobster sauce (page 21)

9. Oyster sauce (page 21)

Plain boiled potatoes, with butter and parsley, and peas are customary with salmon. I also like a puree of spinach or a puree of spinach mixed with sorrel.

COULIBIAC OF SALMON

This roll of salmon, a Russian dish, is one of the most unusual I have encountered. It is wonderful for buffet services, for it slices well and is easy to eat with a fork. With spinach or a salad it is a meal in itself.

Begin by preparing a brioche dough for the crust:

Brioche Commune

4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 package active dry yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water, 105° to 110°

1 tablespoon sugar

4 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened to the same consistency as the dough

Combine 1 cup flour, the dissolved yeast, and the sugar to make a soft dough, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons water if needed. Knead on a lightly floured board and form into a ball. Cut a cross in the top of the ball, transfer to a warm bowl, and cover with a towel. Allow to rise in a warm draft-free place for about 1 hour.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook, combine the remaining 3 cups flour, the eggs, and salt. Mix with a wooden spatula or spoon or mix at low speed in the electric mixer for 3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula once during the process. Next, work in the butter, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, being certain each piece is completely blended before adding more.

When the yeast mixture is doubled in bulk, remove from the bowl and combine with the second dough mixture. Mix thoroughly with the hands, a wooden spatula, or in a mixer with a dough hook. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with a towel, and set to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk. When the dough has risen, punch it down with your fist. Cover the bowel with aluminum foil and refrigerate several hours or overnight before using. The dough will rise again slowly under refrigeration and the texture will become more solid and workable. When ready to use, punch down again and roll out on a heavily floured board.

Crepes

7/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter

11/2 cups milk

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until there are no lumps. Add the melted butter. Gradually stir in the milk and mix until the batter is the consistency of thin cream (you may not need all the milk, so add it slowly). Let the batter rest before using.

Make the crêpes in a heated 8-inch crêpe pan (this makes 6-inch crêpes). Put the pan over medium-high heat and, when hot, brush with a little melted butter. Pour a little of the batter into the pan, tilting and rotating it so the batter coats the surface evenly. Pour any excess back into the bowl. Cook the crêpe until lightly browned on one side; turn and lightly brown the other side. Keep warm on a plate until ready to use.

Coulibiac

4 or 5 fillets salmon, about 12 inches long

1 pound white fish (sole, haddock, etc.)

12 ounces melted butter

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 recipe Brioche Commune

12 to 14 unsweetened crêpes

Poach the salmon in salt water, allowing 10 minutes per inch of measured thickness. Poach the white fish separately, following the same timing. Drain and chop the white fish, then mix in 8 ounces melted butter and parsley. Set this farce aside.

Remove the brioche dough from the refrigerator, punch down, and roll out into a large rectangle. Melt the remaining 4 ounces butter. Put a layer of crêpes on the dough, then some of the farce, melted butter, another layer of crêpes and more farce, and more melted butter. Arrange the salmon fillets in the center and cover with crêpes. Roll up and decorate the top (roll each end 1 inch over the filling and then the sides meeting and overlapping slightly). Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Allow to stand for 25 minutes to rise slightly. Brush with egg wash and bake in a 375° oven for 45 minutes. Serve the coulibiac with melted butter.

SALMON PIE

2 pounds salmon cut in cubes

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Paprika

1/2 pound shrimp

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 cup sherry
or
Madeira

2 cups sauce velouté (page 21)

Rich pie crust

Beaten egg yolk

You can use either fillets or a large piece of salmon for this recipe. Remove the bones and skin, cut into cubes, and dust with salt, pepper, and paprika. Place the fish, shrimp, onion, and parsley in a casserole. Combine the sherry or Madeira with the sauce and pour over the fish mixture. Put a support in the center to hold up the crust, or else build the fish up in the center and pour the sauce around it. Cover with a rich pastry. (It is wise to roll it out about 1 hour ahead and chill it in the refrigerator.) Cut little leaves and decorations from the leftover pastry and decorate the crust. Brush well with beaten egg yolk and bake in a 450° oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375° and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

SALMON SOUFFLÉ

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup milk

Salt

1 cup flaked cooked salmon

Juice of half a lemon

6 eggs, separated

Pinch of fresh dill
or
1/2 teaspoon tarragon

Make a heavy cream sauce with the butter, flour, and milk. Season to taste. Add the salmon, lemon juice, and the dill or tarragon and let it cool for a few minutes. Gradually add 5 of the 6 egg yolks, slightly beaten. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture. Pour into a buttered soufflé dish. Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with a Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26). (Use the extra egg yolk in making the sauce.)

Canned Salmon – Hot Dishes

Following are some recipes particularly suited to canned salmon as well as to cooked fresh salmon.

QUICK SALMON CURRY

1 onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup flaked salmon

11/2 tablespoons curry powder

11/4 cups sauce béchamel (page 23)

Heavy cream
or
vermouth
or
white wine

Sauté the onion in butter until lightly browned. Add the salmon, curry powder, and béchamel, and blend well. Heat to the boiling point. If the mixture is too thick, add several tablespoons of cream or vermouth or white wine. Serve with rice and chutney.

SCALLOPED SALMON

1 can (16 ounces) salmon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped onion

11/2 cups coarse cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup milk
or
other liquid

Combine the salmon, lemon juice, and onion. Blend the crumbs, butter, and seasonings. Pile in alternate layers in a buttered baking dish and add just enough milk (or fish broth or tomato juice) to moisten the crumbs. Dot with butter and bake in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

VARIATIONS

1. To the salmon and lemon juice, add 1/2 cup finely diced celery, 1/2 cup finely diced onion, 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Mix with cracker crumbs, butter, and salt, and add just enough milk to moisten. Pile in a casserole and dot with butter.

2. To the salmon, add 1/2 cup finely diced onion, 1 clove garlic, grated, 1/4 cup finely diced green pepper, and 1 tablespoon chili powder. For liquid use 1/2 cup chili sauce diluted with 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, a dash of Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons sherry or red wine. Proceed as above.

3. With the basic mixture include layers of peeled, sliced tomatoes sprinkled with chopped garlic and parsley. Add tomato juice with a dash of cayenne. Top the casserole with anchovies and dot with butter. Poke large ripe olives into the crumbs after 25 minutes of baking.