Whole Salmon Slashed And Stuffed With Basil Butter Food

STUFFED SALMON WITH BALSAMIC BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• For the crab cake mix: Gently mix the crab meat with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, seafood seasoning and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Form four 4-ounce crab cakes.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• For the salmon: Make a small vertical pocket in each piece of salmon. Place a slice of Brie on the bottom of the pocket, top with 1 crab cake and another slice of Brie.
• Place the salmon in a large baking dish and add enough water to reach one-quarter of the way up the side of the salmon. Bake until pale and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For the asparagus and sauce: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the asparagus just until crisp tender and bright green. Drain and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking.
• Put the vinegar and shallots in a saute pan and cook over medium heat until vigorously bubbling and reduced by three-quarters, about 2 minutes. Add a pinch salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low and slowly stir in the butter. If the sauce is too thin, continue to simmer over very low heat until desired thickness.
• In a second saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper and cook until warmed through. (The asparagus is already cooked so don't saute it too long.)
• Serve the salmon and asparagus over wild rice. Spoon over the sauce.

WHOLE SALMON "SLASHED AND STUFFED" WITH BASIL BUTTER

Steps:

• Begin by preheating a large outdoor grill. Using a paper-towel folded in 4, wipe down the grill with olive oil to clean it and also create a nonstick surface.
• Prepare the compound butter by roughly chopping 1/2 the basil leaves and adding it along with the butter and salt and pepper, to taste, to a food processor. Pulse until fully combined and creamy.
• Using a chef's knife, make slits in each side of the fish, place a few slices of lemon and basil in each of the slits. Stuff the remaining herbs and lemon inside of the fish and head. Paint the whole fish with the basil butter and refrigerate the remaining butter to serve with the finished fish. Carefully place the fish on the grill and grill for 10 to 12 minutes until it lifts off easily - use 2 large spatulas. Turn the fish over and grill for 10 minutes more.
• Serve on a large platter family style and dot with the remaining basil butter. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh basil leaves. Serve with lemon wedges.

CENTERPIECE SALMON WITH THAI BASIL AND BROWNED BUTTER

Steps:

• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, swirling from time to time until it begins to foam, turn light brown, and smell nutty and caramelized. Remove from heat, stir in wakame and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
• In a spice grinder, mini food process or mortar, blitz or pound the garlic, lime zest, ginger and 1 1/2 teaspoons flaky salt (or 3/4 teaspoon fine salt) to a paste, scraping the sides down as you go. Add the chopped basil leaves, and blitz or pound until broken down into a bright green paste.
• Strain the browned butter into a small bowl and set the now-crisp wakame aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
• Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the garlic paste to the bowl with the butter and stir well. Add the remaining paste to a separate small bowl, stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and set aside.
• Place the salmon skin side down on a very large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment, arranging it diagonally so it fits. Rub with 1 1/2 teaspoons flaky salt (or 3/4 teaspoon fine salt), then spoon the butter mixture evenly over to cover. Set aside at room temperature for about an hour. (Alternatively, you can prepare the salmon up to this point and refrigerate, covered, up to 4 hours.)
• Toss the radishes together with 1/4 teaspoon flaky salt (or 1/8 teaspoon fine salt) and 1 tablespoon lime juice and set aside.
• Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius and position a rack in the top third of the oven.
• Fill a large bowl with water. Peel the sunchokes, adding them to the water as you go to prevent discoloration. Cut them into 1 1/4-inch/3-centimeter chunks, then dry very well with a kitchen towel. Toss together with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt (or 1/4 teaspoon fine salt) and spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Roast sunchokes for 20 to 22 minutes, tossing the vegetables and rotating the pans halfway through, until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside to cool. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
• While the sunchokes are roasting, peel the potatoes, add to a medium saucepan, cover with cold, well-salted water, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering, cook for 12 to 15 minutes (or longer, if larger), until a knife goes all the way through, but they still hold their shape. Drain and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch chunks. Add the cooled potatoes and sunchokes to a large bowl and set aside.
• Bake the salmon for 15 minutes, then remove and baste well; it should be firm at the edges but still tender in the center. (Depending on the thickness and type of salmon you use, it may take as little as 10 minutes or as long as 20; adjust accordingly.) Turn the oven to the broil (grill) setting on the highest temperature and tear away any exposed parchment so it doesn't burn.
• Return the salmon to the oven and broil about 4 inches from the heat for 4 minutes, or until browned on top and cooked through but still a little pink inside. Let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the salmon to a very long, large platter, skin side down, using a wide fish spatula, and spoon the butter evenly over it.
• Add the remaining 3 tablespoons lime juice to the garlic paste and stir well. Add this to the potatoes and sunchokes and gently toss together. Toss in the crispy wakame, pickled radishes, Thai basil leaves and green onions and arrange the salad next to the salmon. Serve with lime wedges alongside.

TOMATO-AND-FENNEL-STUFFED SALMON WITH BASIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make fish:
• Put oven racks in middle and lower third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Toss tomatoes in a bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in a shallow baking pan and reserve bowl (do not wipe clean).
• Quarter fennel lengthwise, then slice 1/8 inch thick with slicer. Toss fennel in reserved bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and remaining teaspoon herbes de Provence, then spread out in a 17- by 12-inch heavy shallow baking pan.
• Roast fennel in lower third of oven and tomatoes in middle of oven, stirring fennel halfway through roasting, until fennel begins to caramelize and tomatoes are browned lightly on edges (but are still juicy) and their juices have accumulated in bottom of pan, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven. If there are no tomato juices in pan, gently press on tomatoes to extract enough juice to measure 2 tablespoons (leave juices in pan). Increase oven temperature to 450°F.
• Line a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan with heavy-duty foil and coat foil with 1 tablespoon oil. Position salmon diagonally in roasting pan, then open fish. Sprinkle inside of fish with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then coat with 1 tablespoon oil. Arrange roasted tomatoes evenly inside fish on bottom half (with head and tail attached), reserving juices in pan (for sauce). Top tomatoes with roasted fennel, then pour wine over vegetables and close fish (like a book) to enclose stuffing (stuffing will not be completely covered). Secure opening with several wooden picks, then rub top of fish with remaining tablespoon oil. If head and tail hang over edge of pan, put a baseball-size ball of foil under head and a golf-ball-size ball of foil under tail to prop them up so that juices run into pan (head and tail will curve upward slightly).
• Roast salmon in middle of oven until fish is just cooked through (thickest part will be opaque), about 25 minutes.
• Make sauce while fish roasts:
• Combine saffron and hot water in a small cup and let stand 1 minute. Blend together saffron mixture, remaining sauce ingredients, and 2 tablespoons reserved tomato juices in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, until ready to use.
• To serve:
• Slide whole fish (still on foil) onto a platter. To remove foil, lift head end of fish slightly with a long or wide spatula and push foil toward middle of fish. Lower head end back onto platter and lift tail end in same manner to gently remove foil completely. Serve fish with sauce on the side.