Meat « (y)our food choices™

A salmon poaching in a court bouillon with artichokes.

To say that it’s the best and worst of times for the Pacific salmon fishery would just be false. It’s actually the worst of times for the fish and the industry and things don’t seem to be getting much better. The reality is that most Pacific salmon fisheries are in crisis and have been for some time. Sure, you can find inexpensive salmon rather abundantly in supermarkets and at your local fish monger, but what you’re finding in the markets isn’t wild. When you’re looking for that next pink filet or steak, be sure the salmon you buy is wild Pacific fish, wild caught Alaskan salmon is best. Why wild Pacific salmon? Because most Atlantic salmon in your local grocery is farmed salmon. And farmed salmon is genetically modified, corn fed, and dyed pink with artificial color to make it look like, well, salmon. The result is a Franken fish devoid of the valuable omega-3 fats we’re learning to be so important to our health. Farmed salmon isn’t good for you and it isn’t good for our oceans. You might as well just go buy a fast food hamburger and call it a day, since it’s effects on the environment are basically analogous to the mess we call the beef industry and that factory burger will probably taste better too.

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, wild Pacific Coho is an excellent choice for our current fish consumption. So when I saw an Andrionico’s flyer advertising flash frozen wild Pacific Coho salmon for $4.99 per pound I knew I had to have some. The first day I went over to our local Andronico’s the salmon was sold out – no surprise. When I got there the following day I was barely in time to get two large halves of the wonderfully delicate fish. The cost was just shy of $25 for the two very large pieces. A bargain for sure.

I put the fish in our deep freeze hoping to prepare one of them before the sale was over. I wanted to go back and get more of the wonderful creatures but, unfortunately, the sale only lasted a few days. It was probably best since our plans to cook the fish were postponed over and over again. When we finally got to it, we were a little overwhelmed by the task of putting it to use. We love fresh fish but we don’t cook it often. We consulted our cookbooks, scanned the recipes on Epicurious.com and scoured Martha’s site for inspiration. We ultimately settled on two basic preparations, both of which required minimal prep of the fish itself.

Poached salmon on top of a bed of lentils, with a dollop of dijion creme fraiche.

We poached the first piece of salmon in a savory broth containing a mix of aromatic vegetables and herbs. We roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery and tossed it into a stock pot with several cups of water. Then we added sprigs of fresh parsley and thyme, a couple of long pieces of fresh lemon zest, a couple of dried bay leaves, some pink and black peppercorns, some sea salt, and about a cup or so of white wine and brought the pot to a simmer. Meanwhile, the fish had to be scaled and rinsed. The aromatics cooked for about 20 minutes to allow all those flavors to marry. With the heat turned down to barely a simmer, the whole piece of salmon went in for a gentle poaching. It sat in the liquid for approximately 10 to 12 minutes. The result was a luscious, tender, sweet tasting fish that could be used in any number of ways. The poaching liquid We served it atop French lentils and finished with a dollop of Dijon crème fraiche. The recipe for the lentils and crème fraiche is adapted from Serious Eats: French in a Flash: Crispy Salmon with Lentils du Puy and Two-Mustard Crème Fraîche.

Baked salmon with fennel and orange zest, on top of roasted potatoes.

The second piece of salmon was stuffed with fresh sprigs of parsley, thyme and tarragon, then set on a bed of thinly sliced fennel and onions that had been sautéed first and finished with fennel seeds and grated orange zest. Some of the poaching liquid from the previous fish was added to the casserole dish to keep everything moist. Once prepped, it went into a 400 degree oven for approximately 10 to 12 minutes. When the fish was done, we skinned and de-boned it, and it was served with roasted potatoes and the fennel. Finished with a squeeze of lemon and fresh cracked pepper. It made for a tasty and light Sunday supper.

We have an upcoming trip planned for London and Paris in April and we can’t wait until we depart. We’ve never been to Europe, and aside from Canada and Mexico we have never left the U.S. We are also big fans of French and European culture even though we have yet to experience them up close and personal. We hope that in the years to come we’ll be able to travel to Italy and Spain to experience their cuisines in person. Whenever we see Lidia Bastianich or Jose Andres cooking up their regional dishes we both wish we had the luxury of being able to travel and eat delicious foods. Some day soon we’ll visit Italy and Spain, but for this first venture to Europe it’s all about Paris and London.

Pate, Cheese, Pear, Cornichon and Olive

Give us a bottle of Champagne (or a nice Cava, or sparkling wine), a baguette, some cheese, pâté, Dijon mustard, olives and cornichon pickles and we’re as happy as we can be. That also happened to be our midnight Valentine’s Day celebration menu from last Sunday. I was working late, serving the masses their Valentine’s Day dinner, while Steve was at home preparing our feast. The most complicated part of the nosh was preparing the Pâté, which is essentially just chicken livers and butter. We found the recipe in the March issue of Martha Stewart’s Living and the only thing we did differently was to pour the Pâté into a jar instead of pouring it into a plastic lined bread pan.

The amount of pâté was too much for both of us to eat in one sitting, so now whenever we need a reminder of what’s to come on our Paris vacation, we can spread a little on some toast or crackers, dreaming of the day when we can truly eat like Parisians. Even if you’re not as lucky enough to get Paris this year, you can still make up a batch of Martha’s pâté to keep on hand for those days you need to be reminded of how good life really is!

Steve’s Note:

When I think of food torture I think of my childhood. I think of sitting at the family table or at a TV tray with a plate of pan-fried beef liver and onions with a side of canned peas and lumpy boiled potatoes. If this meal didn’t make me cry (believe me, it almost always did) or vomit (it happened once), at the very least it meant that I would be tethered to my seat at the table for what felt like an eternity. These standoffs would last until my plate was cold and mom couldn’t take the suffering of her child martyr any longer. After choking down “just one bite,” I’d be dismissed from what was a mercifully rare but memorable ordeal.

Martha’s simple pate recipe is, I suppose, a sort of liver therapy. A rehabilitation of sorts of my attitude toward a lowly food that has much more to offer than poor cooking methods will ever reveal. We hope you’ll give it a try.

Cheers, Steve

Pâté Recipe

3 shallots, diced

12 Tbsp butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

1 lb. chicken livers, cleaned of fat and connective tissue

½ cup dry white wine

1 tbsp fresh thyme

Dash of cayenne

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt 2 tbsp butter in skillet. Sautee shallots over medium heat until softened, approximate 5 minutes. Add chicken livers and sauté for approximately 10 minutes. Add thyme and white wine and simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Pour contents of the pan into a food processor and puree adding the remaining 10 tbsp butter and process until completely smooth. Scoop puree into container and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve on baguette or your favorite cracker.