Cured Wild King Salmon With Wilted Young Leek Cucumber Relish Recipes

Steps:

• Pat fish dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt, pepper, spices and zest. Rub mixture all over fish. Place in a dish, cover and let cure in the fridge for at least 4 hours and preferably 8 hours. Rinse fillets and pat dry. Generously oil salmon.
• Light the grill. Once coals are hot, scatter drained hickory chips over coals. (If you're using a gas grill, place them in a disposable metal pan on the grill next to the salmon.)
• Place salmon flesh-side down on grill and cover, closing top vent so not much smoke is released. Smoke salmon, covered, for about 5 to 6 minutes, then flip. (If the fish is sticking to the grill grate, then it's not ready to flip. Cook for another 3 to 10 minutes, depending upon how hot your fire is. The fish is done when the interior is medium pink and exterior crisp and smoky. Serve with lemon wedges.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Trim the roots and leaves from the leeks, leaving the soft white stem. Chop the stem into sections and place in a colander over the sink, or in a bowl of water. Rinse the leeks very thoroughly, these are notoriously grainy vegetables and you don't want the dirt to end up in your food, and pat dry. In a straight edge sauté pan with a lid over medium heat add the butter and allow to melt. Then add the leeks and sauté until tender. About 8 minutes.
• Once the leeks are tender pour in the chicken broth until it just covers the leeks. If you need a little more broth than the 2 cups called for, add a little more bit by bit. Then, add the salmon steaks on top, making sure they are separated a little. If there is skin on the salmon, place the skin side up so that the fish is resting directly on the leeks.
• Turn up the heat so that the broth is simmering. Place the lid on the pan and cook the salmon for 8 minutes. After that, check to make sure the steaks are cooked through. If not, continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes.
• Divide the leeks between two plates. Serve one salmon steak on top of each bed of leeks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

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.