Cured Wild King Salmon With Wilted Young Leek Cucumber Relish Food

SEARED WILD KING SALMON WITH CUCUMBER, RED ONION, AND SAFFRON BROTH

Steps:

• Slice the cucumber halves on the diagonal about 1/3 inch thick. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the cucumbers and blanch for 20 seconds, then transfer with a wiremesh skimmer to ice water to chill. Add the onion to the boiling water and blanch for 15 seconds. Drain and transfer to the ice water. When cool, drain and pat dry with paper towels.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and saffron and simmer until almost dry. Add the stock and simmer until reduced by half. Whisk in the crème fraîche. Simmer until the sauce is reduced to about 1 cup. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan. Whisk in the chives and tarragon. Add the cucumbers and onions. Season with salt and keep warm over low heat while you cook the salmon.
• With needle-nose pliers or tweezers, remove the salmon's fine pinbones. (You can feel these by running your fingers over the thickest part of the flesh.) Season the fish on both sides with salt and white pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the salmon, skinned side up. Sear until nicely browned, about 2 minutes, then turn and cook until the fish just flakes, about 3 minutes longer, lowering the heat as needed to prevent burning.
• Divide the cucumbers, onions, and saffron broth evenly among 4 soup bowls. Top each serving with a salmon fillet. Garnish the salmon with a sprinkle of fresh chives. Serve immediately.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay or another medium-bodied white wine.

WILD KING SALMON WITH SAVORY WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Slice salmon diagonally into 6 four-ounce portions about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (or have your fishmonger slice it). Place on a cutting board or baking sheet. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
• Put cream in a mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until just barely thickened. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, some freshly ground pepper, the mustard, the cayenne and the lemon zest. Beat again until soft peaks form, but don't let the cream get too stiff. Fold in chives. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Put butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When butter begins to foam, add salmon pieces and reduce heat slightly. Cook gently on one side for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook one minute more. Turn off heat and let rest for 2 minutes. Salmon should be cooked through but moist. Be careful not to overcook.
• Transfer salmon to a platter or individual plates. Spoon some savory whipped cream over each serving. Garnish with tarragon, watercress and flowers, if desired.

SLOW-ROASTED KING SALMON WITH CREAMED CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet. Add ginger and shallot and sauté briefly, until softened. Add cucumbers, season with salt and pepper and sauté until almost translucent. Spread in a baking dish large enough to hold salmon. Do not wash skillet.
• Place salmon on cucumbers. Pour chardonnay around salmon. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with juice of half the lemon. Cover with a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Place in oven and cook 45 minutes for medium rare, 50 to 55 minutes for more well-cooked. Because fish is slow-roasted, it will remain quite red in center.
• Transfer salmon to a large platter with a rim. Transfer cucumber mixture to skillet and cook down for 5 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and cook until sauce is consistency of heavy cream. Season with salt, pepper and remaining lemon juice. Pour mixture around fish. Sprinkle fish with chives and serve.

HUMMUS-CRUSTED ALASKAN WILD KING SALMON OVER A BED OF FRENCH BEANS, RED ONION, AND CUCUMBER SALAD WITH LEMON OIL

Steps:

• To make the Lemon Oil:
• Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a small saucepan. Drop in the juiced lemon halves and add the garlic, shallots, oil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. (If you haven't planned ahead, just let the oil sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.) Strain the oil, pressing down hard on the solids before discarding them. Taste for salt. Lemon oil will keep, covered and refrigerated, for 2 weeks.
• To make the Hummus:
• Put the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are coarsely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the processor on again and drizzle in the oil. Process until the hummus is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Scrape the hummus into a bowl, cover it, and set it aside at room temperature until needed, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Bring the hummus back to room temperature before you use it.
• To make the Salad:
• Combine the cucumber, onion, and haricots verts in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• To make the Fish:
• Position an oven rack 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler. Brush a baking sheet with oil and slide it under the broiler to heat for 5 minutes.
• Put the cornmeal, flour, and sea salt in a shallow bowl and whisk to combine. Dip the skin side of the salmon into the breading mix and set it, skin side down, on the baking sheet. Brush the fish with oil and salt it lightly. Broil the fish for 1 1/2 minutes. Change the oven setting to 500°F and bake the fish for 7 1/2 minutes.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Adjust the oven rack so it's about 3 inches from the broiler and turn the broiler back on. Spread the top of each fillet with one-quarter of the hummus. Use the back of a spoon to make peaks in the hummus (the uneven surface will give you better browning), and sprinkle each fillet with 1 teaspoon panko. Slide the baking sheet back into the oven and broil until the hummus is browned, about 2 1/2 minutes.
• To serve, divide the salad among 4 dinner plates, spreading it out in the center of each plate. Sprinkle each salad with 1 teaspoon parsley and drizzle with 1/4 cup lemon oil. Set the salmon on top of the salad and serve.

CURED WILD KING SALMON WITH WILTED YOUNG LEEK CUCUMBER RELISH

Steps:

• Cured salmon:.
• Season salmon with sugar, salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle herbs over top of salmon.
• Refrigerate for several hours.
• Leek and cucumber relish:.
• Slice leeks lengthwise, put flat side down and thinly slice across.
• Rinse in cool water and drain well.
• In a pot of boiling water blanch leeks for 1 minute and refresh in ice bath.
• Cool in refrigerator.
• Lightly salt cucumber after it is diced and set aside for about 1 hour.
• Combine champagne vinegar, shallots, sugar, mustard and chervil in a bowl.
• Whisk together slowly drizzling in olive oil until emulsified.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Squeeze out excess liquid in leeks and cucumber and combine with vinaigrette.
• Cook salmon over medium flame for 4 minutes on skin side only.
• Serve with cucumber relish.