While I have been going on with my piles of comfort food and other things that have no business being on my plate after the holidays (Sweet Potatoes cooked in bacon fat, yummy but I do have a waistband to think about too). Many of my fellow bloggers have been highlighting delicious light recipes (Shrink my Ass series, Vegan Month and recipes like this come to mind). I feel kind of like a smoker at a red cross convention. I thought I would lighten things up this time, have a little fun and poach salmon. This looks like a lot of stuff is going on but really was easy to prepare plus it is an impressive looking and tasting dish.
Start by making the poaching liquid. To do that start with Mirepoix, if you aren't familiar with that term, simply put mirepoix is a mixture of coarsely chopped Onions, Celery and Carrots (two parts onion, one part carrot, one part celery). It plays an important part in many sauces and stocks. As an added bonus when you say Mirepoix people really think you know what you are talking about.
The liquid has:
1 qt water
1 cup red wine
1 cup mirepoix
2 cloves garlic
1 stem of tarragon (I like tarragon, you can use whatever aromatic herb(s) you like.
Some of the trimmings from the vegetables that I served with this dish
Salt and pepper
Bring it to a boil then turn to medium heat and let it cook for about an hour, by the way the house will smell great! When it has reduced by half strain it off so you just have the dark flavor filled liquid left, keep that at a simmer until you are ready.
I topped this with Baby Bok Choy, Yellow Squash, Green Onion, and Baby Portabella Mushrooms. I sauteed these in about 2 tsp of Sesame Oil and 2 tsp of Corn Oil (Sesame Oil can be pretty strong) then added a few Sesame Seeds. When the vegetables were all chopped I put them into the hot saute pan for about 5 minutes tossing often. As soon as the vegetables went into the skillet I put the the salmon fillets into the lightly simmering liquid. Depending on how thick your salmon fillets are this will take 3-5 minutes to cook. In the end, the salmon was tender and flaky with nice subtle flavors to it. The vegetables just can't be beat they are great! 
Baby Bok Choy, isn't it cute?
Most of us are watching the calories, even though our blog recipes aren't necessarily slimming. I give a lot away to friends and neighbors, or have people over to eat what I've tested!
ReplyDeleteI'm a great lover of salmon, have it a couple times a week. Your recipe sounds easy and delicious.
(Agreed: baby bok choy is fun to cook with.)
...a smoker at a Red Cross convention...LOL.
ReplyDeleteYour salmon looks great!