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Poach salmon on stovetop or in the oven

May 26, 2017

We spent last weekend with a group of friends and family who were in town for a party. Our plan was to host dinner at our place on Saturday, make breakfast for the early risers on Sunday and go to the party together later that day. 

Since most were enthusiastic cooks (as well as discerning diners), I spent several weeks trying to decide what to make. Comfort foods like roast chicken or meat loaf were options, but needed too much focus. I considered grilling, but our portable Weber doesn’t have enough space to cook the quantities required. 

That’s when we started looking at restaurants that offered catered platters we could serve buffet style. I’d already found cleverly packaged sets of disposable plastic plates, napkins and cutlery (at Staples of all places) which meant we’d just need food, no accessories or serving pieces. 

Although there are several excellent sandwich shops in the Lewes area, we opted for hot food. We settled on Touch of Italy and assembled a menu that included half-trays of meatballs, orecchiette with sausage, cheesy baked ziti and an antipasto platter. They added a few loaves of bread to the box of foil-covered pans, and we had plenty to serve our group of 15. 

We deliberately didn’t order dessert, because our friends Bob and Debbie brought a decadent key lime pie and a low-sugar chocolate peanut butter pie made with a healthy secret ingredient. Despite the filling array of Italian food we’d just eaten, there was only a single slice left of each pie. 

At the suggestion of our friend, Marie, the leftover bread became the basis of a breakfast casserole: bread cubes, blueberries, strawberries and cinnamon drenched in an egg custard. We tossed the ingredients together, let it soak overnight in the refrigerator and baked it the next day. 

Sunday morning we found the texture in the center was far too wet, even after more than an hour in the oven. We discovered the cause when Marie walked in and asked why we’d cooked it in a deep Dutch oven instead of a flat casserole pan. The solution presented itself in the form of maple syrup drizzled over the pudding. 

The menu and venue for the party had been set much earlier, chosen with help from Gary and Lorraine Papp, owners of Palate Bistro on Route 1. Since they usually close after Sunday brunch, they offered the entire restaurant space for our dinner-hour event. 

They prepared an amazing selection of dishes that were as lovely as they were delicious - beef tenderloin, grilled vegetables, crunchy bruschetta, hot crab dip, steamed shrimp and an elegantly garnished whole poached salmon wearing “scales” of cucumber rounds. As you can see from the photo, it was almost too pretty to eat. 

While poaching an entire salmon is a bit of an undertaking for the home cook, it’s not too difficult to poach smaller filets. The technique keeps the flesh from drying out, leaving it tender and flakey. Recipes for poached salmon usually begin with a court-bouillon or seasoned broth used as the poaching liquid. 

You can poach stovetop by adding the fish to a simmering broth, or in the oven, baking the fish in herb-infused liquid. Either technique results in a lovely salmon filet that pairs nicely with a creamy dill sauce - cucumber scales optional. 

Stovetop Poached Salmon 

2 C dry white wine 
2 C water 
1 sliced onion 
2 whole cloves 
1-inch slice lemon peel 
1 t whole black peppercorns 
1 bay leaf 
2 stripped fennel stalks 
1/2 t salt 
1 1/2-lb salmon filet 

Combine everything but the salmon in a deep skillet and bring just to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; maintain a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. Briefly return heat to high and remove pan from heat. Add salmon, skin side down.

Tightly cover pan with aluminum foil and then the pot lid, making sure no steam escapes. Allow to poach (off heat) for about 10 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove the skin and serve with dill sauce. Yield: 4 servings.

Oven-poached Salmon 

1 sliced lemon 
3 sprigs dill 
3 sprigs thyme 
2 12-oz salmon filets 
1 T olive oil 
salt & pepper, to taste 
1/2 C dry white wine 

Preheat oven to 325 F. Arrange the lemon slices on the bottom of a baking dish just large enough to hold the fish. Tear the dill and thyme sprigs into pieces and scatter across the lemon.

Rub both sides of the filets with olive oil; sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange the salmon on the lemon and herbs, skin side down. Pour wine into the baking dish and cover very tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until fish is cooked to taste, about 15 minutes. Remove skin and serve with dill sauce. Yield: 4 servings.

Yogurt Dill Sauce 

1 C plain yogurt 
1 minced shallot 
1 T finely chopped dill 
1 t minced basil leaves 
juice of 1 lemon 
1/4 t lemon zest 
1 T olive oil 
salt & pepper, to taste 

Combine ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or a blender. Puree until smooth. Place in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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