Cookery: olive oil pached fillet of salmon with peas and broad beans.
Salmon has become an extremely popular fish. Farmed salmon have improved immensely over recent years, in large part due to lower stock levels in the cages and better feed. That said, if you can track down wild salmon it's hard to make a case for choosing the farmed variety. Make sure it's in good condition, though – bright, raised eyes, firm flesh and rose-red gills are signs of quality and freshness.
Poaching salmon in olive oil makes the naturally rich flesh of salmon even richer, and is essentially the same method as a confit, in which duck and rabbit legs are often cooked in hot duck fat. The technique also works well with white fish such as turbot and cod. Serving the salmon with new-season peas and broad beans gives the dish both a visual and seasonal taste of spring.
Olive oil poached fillet of salmon with peas and broad beans
Serves 4
200ml chicken stock
50g butter
600g peas
1l olive oil
4 x 150g salmon fillets, skinned and pin boned
300g broad beans, peeled
50g pea shoots
Place the chicken stock in a medium saucepan, place on a high heat and bring to the boil. Add the butter and half of the peas, season lightly with salt and boil for 2 minutes before straining off the peas and reserving the liquid.
Transfer the peas to a liquidiser and blitz until smooth, adding some stock if required, and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and insert a cooking thermometer. Bring the oil to 65C then lower the heat slightly to a steady 53-60C, checking the temperature with the thermometer.
Season the salmon fillets lightly with salt and place them gently in the oil for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, the fish should be opaque, warm and tender to the touch.
While the salmon is cooking, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the remaining peas and broad beans, cook for 1 minute then place the vegetables in a colander and discard the water. Warm the pea puree separately then add the peas and beans.
To serve, remove the salmon fillets from the oil, pat them dry then season with rock salt. Place a spoonful of peas and beans on the plate and top with the salmon, arranging pea shoots on top.
WINE MATCH
2010, Hautes-Cotes De Beaune, Domaine Delagrange, Burgundy, £14.45, L'Art Du Vin
A complex yet understated wine with aromas of white flowers combined with honey and hints of straw.
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