Salmon

I was at a shooting party recently and was served beetroot and vodka cured salmon as a starter – it was absolutely delicious. Light, tangy, the cucumber salad adding a refreshing bite. I found a number of variations on-line which I’ve adapted to produce my perfect variation – it’s a bit more Scandinavian than the original, and a little more fragrant.

For the salmon
500-600g (1lb 2oz-1lb 5oz) side of salmon, boned, with skin left on
1tbsp coriander seeds
1tbsp fennel seeds

1tbsp caraway seeds

1tbsp cumin seeds
½tsp black peppercorns
2tbsp coarse sea salt
1½tbsp granulated sugar

3tbsp Kummel
zest ½ lemon
150g (5oz) raw beetroot, peeled and grated (wear gloves)
3tbsp grated horseradish
2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

For the cucumber salad 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and ribboned
Handful of breakfast radishes, finely sliced (optional)

A few candy beetroot, finely sliced (optional)

For the salad dressing

3tbsp white wine vinegar
1tbsp caster sugar
3 sprigs dill, roughly chopped

Preparation:

Check the salmon for any small pin bones, and remove with fish tweezers if necessary
Mix together the spices, grinding to a not too-fine powder in a pestle and mortar or spice blender
Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until evenly distributed
If using a chamber vacuum packer, distribute a small amount of the mixture on the bottom of the bag, and put in the salmon fillet, skin side down. Put the remaining mixture into the bag and seal at normal pressure. The salmon can remain like this in the fridge for several days.
If you don’t have a vac-pac, line a baking tray with cling film, and place the salmon fillet onto it, skin side down. Cover with the marinade, and wrap fully in cling film. The cure will draw out some of the fish’s moisture, and result in a firmer flesh. To enhance this, you can place another baking sheet on top of the fish and weight it down. The mixture needs to be left for at least 24 hours, and the colour will develop the longer you leave it. On colour, you could also consider using golden beetroot at this time of the year, which will give the salmon a brighter colour.
Open (or uncover) the fish, and clean off the marinade under cold water… Try to avoid getting too much water into the grain of the fish, and then pat dry with kitchen paper.
Prepare the cucumber by slicing it finely on a mandolin. Pop it into a colander and sprinkle it with 2tsp of salt. This will crisp up the cucumber and draw out any excess fluid… Rinse of the cure and dry the cumber (I usually spin mine gently in a salad spinner, rather than squeezing it).
If using the radishes, slice them to a similar thickness on a mandolin or by hand. They accentuated the pepperiness of the horseradish, and echo the pinkness of the salmon cure
If using the candy beetroot, keep them away from the other ingredients until the last minute, as the colours can leech from the candy stripes
Mix together the dressing, and when you’re ready to serve, dress the cucumber (and optional elements) with the dressing and leave for 5 minutes.
Slice the salmon finely with a salmon knife – do not put your hand on the salmon, and cut the pad off your finger, as I did one Christmas morning! Serve the salmon and salad together. You could also grate chilled horseradish over the dish at the last minute – Alain Passard did this on one dish we had, and it made a delightful addition!

This is the slightly spicier cure for the red beetroot salmon

This is the lighter and more citrussy cure for the golden beetroot cured salmon

The top piece of salmon has the golden beetroot and lighter cure,
the second piece the red beetroot and slightly spicier cure.

The day has finally arrived, my kitchen finally has a chamber vacuum packer! This immediately means that I can sous vide items which contain marinades, or confit them in olive oil. My first thought was a piece of salmon, though today I have watermelon compressed with pink salt and basil oil in my fridge, and the Sunday beef sitting in my Grant waterbath! In a moment I will be sealing the soused raw vegetables I made to accompany the salmon, which will mean they remain fresh until next weekend – what a difference this machine is going to make to my kitchen. Having said that – it’s flipping enormous! I was assured this new machine had been specifically designed for the home cook, but given the size and weight of it. I’m going to have to find a permanent home for it in my back kitchen…

Anyway, back to the salmon – the recipe I chose is based on one that Raymond Blanc did on his show, Kitchen Secrets. I didn’t use the whole recipe, but I did brine the salmon as per his recipe. Raymond also suggests cooking it at 42°C, but checking my copy of Modernist Cuisine at Home, it gave me 45°C for rare, 48°C for medium, and 52°C for firm. Knowing that my 11 year old would baulk at the texture of rare salmon even if cooked, I plumped for the 48°C range. The cure stops the fish from leaching its albumen during cooking, and ensures a firmer texture to the fish too. The full recipe can be found here, and includes a rather lovely lemon verbena and apple jelly!

Ingredients:
large pinch fresh lemon verbena, finely chopped
10g sea salt
2 pinches freshly ground white pepper
large pinch caster sugar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh dill
1 x 280g salmon fillet, preferably organic, pin bones removed, skin removed
200ml extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zest peeled off in one strip

Preparation method:

Mix together the lemon verbena, salt, pepper, sugar and dill in a bowl until well combined. Sprinkle half of the mixture onto a baking tray, then place the salmon fillet on top and press to coat it in the marinade mixture. Press the remaining marinade on top of the salmon. Cover the tray with cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. [I usually pop mine into one of those sealed food bags – less mess]When the salmon has marinated, remove it from the fridge and wash off the marinade. Pat dry, then cut lengthways in half and widthways in half again, to make four portions.
Seal the salmon fillets in a bag and sous vide at 48°C for 25 minutes (though I found this a little tepid for my taste, adjust the cooking time accordingly to taste). [I’ve now cooked it again at 50°C, and much prefer the texture]
I served the salmon with new potatoes and a lightly soused raw vegetable salad, made of radishes, mooli, fennel, roscoff pink onions and cucumber, as a nod to the Scandinavian cure. (And please ignore the rather incongruous placing of the potatoes :0) You know my lot, they’re always too hungry to wait while I fiddle…)
The texture is absolutely delicious, silky, luscious, dense – even the 11yo polished it off, and she hates the texture of smoked salmon (though does eat raw salmon, oddly).

You can find more recipes from Raymond Blanc in his books, and I’d recommend the Modernist Cuisine for those interested in sous-vide cooking. I have the bigger collection too, but this is more accessible…

Beetroot and Kummel Cured Salmon, with a cucumber salad

Cured Confit of Salmon, cooked sous-vide