Poached Christmas Salmon with Mayonnaise If roasting a giant turkey this Christmas feels like too much of a mission, think about fish, poached salmon with mayonnaise, cucumber salad and minted new potatoes.
Ingredients
120 ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 stalk celery roughly sliced
½ onion peeled and sliced
Think slice of orange rind
120 ml water
900 g salmon fillets, cut into 4 pieces
30 g butter, softened
A small handful of parsley
4 g chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Heat wine, bay leaf, celery, onions and water over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet for 5 minutes. Slide salmon pieces into poaching liquid and dot with butter. Sprinkle with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat to medium and poach until salmon flesh is firm, about 10 to 15 minutes. Lift salmon out of poaching liquid and serve with Cold Cucumber Salad and mayonnaise
Cold Cucumber Salad
1 cup shredded cucumber
1 cup celery finely slice
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. vinegar
Method:
Mix all ingredients and chill before serving.
Minted Baby Potatoes
800 g new potatoes
4 sprigs of mint
Salt
Butter or olive oil to serve
Method:
Bring enough water in a pot to the boil to cover the potatoes. Add potatoes, mint leaves and salt, cover and boil till potatoes are tender. Drain and serve hot with butter or olive oil.
Hints for poaching salmon:
Pop in the oven at 190C until the fish has changed colour and is opaque (around 30 minutes)
In the microwave using the same method as above but cover the dish with cling film - not forgetting to prick the surface first and microwave on high for 3 - 5 mins depending on the thickness of the fillets. Take the fillets out half way through and turn them around so that the part of the fish that was closest to the rim of the dish is now on the inside closest to the middle.
For poaching a whole salmon, after bringing the poaching liquid to the boil for 15 minutes, let it go cold before putting the whole salmon in the pot. Bring it back slowly to the boil, cook the salmon then take it off the heat and leave it to go cold in the court bouillon. The Salmon can then be taken out and served.
To test if salmon is cooked, insert a metal skewer into the middle of the fish and press the tip of the skewer against your bottom lip to see if it's hot. If it is, then it's done.