A Symphony in Pink: Poached Salmon

I didn’t plan it, but the dinner turned out to be a symphony in pink-- the perfect prelude to the 4th of July weekend.

Menu

Poached Salmon with Chive Sauce
Salmon Roe with Blinis
Watercress & Grape Tomato Salad
Wine: E. Guigal: Tavel 2007
Dessert: Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Recipe: Salmon

½ lb. salmon fillet with skin cut in half
Wesson oil
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Bay leaves (optional)

I brushed the salmon with oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I placed the salmon onto a bamboo steamer, lined with bay leaves, and covered the basket. I set the steamer over a pan with water, brought it to a boil and poached the salmon for 3 minutes on each side. I removed the salmon, let it cool and served it at room temperature.

Chive Sauce

Kewpie Mayonnaise*
Plain yogurt, strained (I always do that to removed all that water)
Spanish Pimenton de la Vera (or Hungarian paprika)
Taramassalata (also spelled Taramasolata)
Chopped chives

I totally improvised the sauce. I didn’t measure anything. I just kept on tasting, adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that, whatever I had in the house. As it happened I liked the sauce so much, I kept spreading it on the bread. Alas, the salmon was slightly overcooked.

The wine was a Rosé with muscle. It had the typical Tavel Burgundy color and had aged nicely. It was the perfect accompaniment to the salmon.

* With its light texture, Kewpie Mayonnaise tastes more like French than Hellman’s mayonnaise. I buy it at Katagari Japanese Market on 59th St. bet. 3rd and 2nd Aves.

Readers Comments:
Ever so often, I’ll post some of the reader’s comments to the various dinners.

Nadia W. “Try Ithaka’s moussaka. It has a very light Béchamel sauce and is utterly delicious!”
Mary C.   “Buying Zabar’s Gazpacho, as you had recommended, I discovered their Russian Cucumber Soup. It’s chock-full of cucumbers and tomatoes and is most refreshing.”