Poached salmon with salad leaves, potatoes and mayonnaise
“Eggs, meat and fish can be transformed by liquid. To do it correctly takes patience and precision, but the gently cooked results are well worth the effort.”
For the salmon
- 12 small kipfler potatoes, well washed but unpeeled
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 pieces salmon, pin bones removed
- 2 handfuls baby beans
- 4 handfuls tender salad leaves
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
For the mayonnaise
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (grapeseed is my choice)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- few drops tabasco or freshly ground pepper
Poached salmon should remain glassy and a deep rose-pink in the centre, with pale-pink edges.
Method
For the mayonnaise
Choose a comfortable basin and rest it on a damp cloth to stop it slipping. Work egg yolks with salt and one tablespoon of the lemon juice until smooth. Gradually beat in oil using a wooden spoon or a whisk, adding the first few tablespoons one at a time and beating well after each. Once a third of the oil has been added, the rest can be added in a thin, steady stream, beating all the while. (This is easiest if you have a helper to pour while you beat.) Taste and adjust with more lemon juice, salt and the hot pepper. Refrigerate with plastic film pressed on the surface to prevent a skin forming. Allow to return to room temperature before serving.
For the salmon
Steam potatoes until tender, then strip off the skin while they are hot. Drop each potato into a small bowl and toss with the oil to prevent them discolouring.
Bring two
pots of salted water to the boil. Slip the pieces of salmon into one and adjust
heat so the water barely shivers. Time for five minutes.
Drop the baby beans
in the other pot and boil rapidly until tender. Remove beans once they are
cooked and add to the bowl with the potatoes.
Remove the salmon and keep
warm for about five minutes. Strip skin and discard.
Arrange the washed and
dried greens on a central serving plate. Scatter over the potatoes and beans.
Break the fish carefully into chunks and arrange on top of the vegetables.
Scatter with the spring onions. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground
pepper and drizzle over some mayonnaise.
Serve additional mayonnaise at the
table.
Serves 4.
