THE BLUE VERVAIN KITCHEN
10. MOTLEY SALMON
This is addictively good and really simple. You just stand at the fridge and take out anything and everything that feels right.
Get everything out and put it all in some kind of reasonable order. No rules. How much of anything to use just takes care of itself. Just don’t worry about it. Besides, no two should ever be the same anyway. No expectations guarantees no failures. Just let it develop and enjoy it for what it is.
Look at this pile of goodies. How can you go wrong? Put it in a bowl, stir it up and your next handful of meals won’t take but a minute. Grab your pre-chopped romaine and radicchio (essay 20), easy reach vegetables (essay 6), some crackers or a broken stove charred tortilla and a cold beer. Hungry?
The biggest bonus you will receive is that no two will ever be the same! Now you’ve arrived at the happy place.
Chopping vegetables and stuff is all about no two pieces alike. Not so small that they can’t be identified and not so big that you can’t get them in your mouth.
My favorite ingredient in things like this is fennel. It does not seem to hold water like celery and it has a better bite and flavor.
Apple is always a good idea. Carol Ann and I have become hooked on the Honey Crisp variety. Like me, they thrive in cold weather, but I’m not sweet and crisp.
Vinegar should always go on first. Splash and let it rest for a bit – everything will be brighter.
8 – 12 eggs and about a cup of Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano is kinda standard for me. I may have mentioned this but there are no substitutes and they don’t come from anywhere but Italy. These two remarkably versatile cheeses are Costco staples and of a particularly fine value.
Nuts always work here. Note: Peanuts are not nuts, they’re legumes. The dressing (sauce) going clockwise from the lemons:
• turmeric
• garlic
• avocado mayo
• goat yogurt
• pepper and Maldon’s sea salt
I’m using two lemons.
Garlic & turmeric.
Easy on the mayo.
Heavy on the yogurt.
Lots of pepper – not too much salt.
Whisk till creamy.
I slice my salmon filets to fit my (egg) poacher cups. My poacher is the world’s most perfect and efficient salmon cooker – seriously!
Liberally butter (preferably goat) up each cup.
BTW. Kirkland wild caught Sockeye is always perfect. It’s flash frozen on the boat. We do not eat farmed salmon from Norway or Heaven. Only wild caught sustainable fish, whether tuna, sardines, anchovies, walleyes or whitefish pass through my kitchen.
Skin on and against the wall of the cup.
Once the water (1/4” or so in pan) is raging, set the cups in their holders and cover. Start timer. Never a blink of the eye beyond 90 seconds.
90 seconds.
Perfect.
Personally, I prefer removing the skin and sensory organ that runs along the length of the fish.
The perfect flake temperature.
Now I return to the bowl of stuff, lay on the EVO to feel and fold.
Lay in the sauce. Is this exciting or what?
Add the salmon and VERY GENTLY and CAREFULLY fold it into the mix. You do not want to damage the delicate fish.
Dinner is served. You just have no idea how good this is. The best part is that there are no rules. No ingredients list. No nothing. Just mix up a pile of goodies and get after it.
I do this kind of thing with typically three fishes.Salmon, tuna and sardines. If I had to take one to the moon, it would probably be the sardine version. Costco puts up the best canned sardine I’ve found. Outstanding product. We get our wild caught salmon and tuna there as well. Have never found any better.
MORE BLUE VERVAIN KITCHEN ESSAYS
6. easy reach vegetables
7. peel an egg
8. stretch a chicken
9. chicken stock fundamentals
10. motley salmon
11. crazy pretzels
12. cannellini basics
13. quick chicken soup
14. a dinner surprise
Thanks for visiting with me.
Paul V’Soske
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