Roasted Salmon With Black Pepper And Ginger On Celery Root Puree Food

ROASTED SALMON WITH BLACK PEPPER AND GINGER ON CELERY ROOT PUREE

Steps:

• Season the salmon lightly with salt, brush the top with a little melted butter, and immediately sprinkle evenly with the crushed pepper and chopped ginger. Drizzle the remaining butter over. If you wait too long, the butter will harden and the mixture won't stick. Refrigerate, covered, until needed.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Prepare the sauce: In a small saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter until foamy. Over medium heat, saute the shallots and garlic until the shallots are translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato and cook 1 or 2 minutes longer. Pour in the wine and vinegar, turn up the heat a little, and reduce until 1/2 cup remains. Pour in the water and reduce by half. Strain into a clean pan. Finish the sauce by whisking in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• Brush some olive oil over a baking tray large enough to hold the salmon slices in 1 layer and arrange the salmon on the pan. Roast until medium, about 10 minutes. The salmon should be cooked on the outside, but still moist and slightly underdone on the inside.
• Presentation: Divide the sauce amoung 4 warm dinner plates. Spoon equal amounts of celery root puree in the center of each plate and place 1 piece of salmon on the top.
• 1 celery root (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 or 2 small baking potatoes (about 4 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons (1-ounce) unsalted butter
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Place the celery root and potato in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Season with salt and cook until soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Drain the water and return the celery and potato to the pan. Pour in the cream and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until thickened and most of the cream is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Puree in a food mill, return to the pan, and keep warm over simmering water. Use as needed.
• Yield: about 2 1/2 cups
• (Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, Adventures in the Kitchen, Random House, 1991)

WOLFGANG PUCK'S SALMON WITH CELERY-ROOT PUREE

Steps:

• To make the sauce, heat two tablespoons of the butter in a large saute pan until the butter is foamy. Add the shallot, garlic and tomato and saute at medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the shallot is translucent.
• Add the wine and vinegar and cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and reduce again by half. Finish the sauce by stirring in the remaining four tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and freshly round pepper to taste. Keep warm.
• Prepare the celery-root puree by chopping the potato and celery root into one-inch cubes. Put in a medium-sized pot and cover with lightly salted cold water. When the water comes to a boil, cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until soft. Drain and return the potato and celery root to the pot. Heat briefly until the excess moisture evaporates.
• Pass the celery Root-potato mixture through the small disk of a food mill or a ricer. (Do not use a food processor; it will make a gluey puree.) Return to the pot.
• Stir in the cream and cook, stirring, over medium heat for about three minutes, or until thickened.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and the salt and pepper to taste.
• In a small bowl, combine the ginger and black pepper. Season the salmon with salt and coat with the ginger-pepper mixture. If grilling or broiling the salmon, sprinkle the fillets with olive oil and cook two minutes on each side. If sauteing the salmon, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan. When the pan is very hot, add the salmon and cook two minutes on each side.
• Divide the sauce among four warm dinner plates. Spoon equal amounts of celery-root puree on the center of each plate. Place salmon on top.