Salmon is a delightful tasty fish brimming with omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins that help maintain the nervous system and support heart health. Yet cooking salmon properly can prove tricky.
Certain chefs advise pan-frying salmon for optimal results, though this can present difficulties for home cooks. Incorrectly pan-frying salmon may cause the skin to adhere to the pan whilst the flesh becomes dry and unappetising. Express.co.uk consulted head chef Connor Robson from contemporary Italian eatery, Bar Gigi, who revealed his secrets for preparing the “tastiest” salmon.
Instead of pan-frying salmon, the chef proposed curing the fish before poaching it to prevent overcooking.
He explained: “Salmon is a great fatty fish that is flaky and delicate. One of the tastiest ways to cook it is by curing it in equal parts salt and sugar for 20 minutes, which you then wash off in ice-cold water and pat dry.
“Poaching salmon in a high-fat mixture is the ideal way to avoid overcooking it and adds moisture to the dish. Get 200g of unsalted butter and mix with the juice of half a lemon and the peel of a full lemon, and poach for seven to eight minutes.
“The salmon should be soft to the touch and still pink on the inside. Salmon is often a fish that many people overcook. If you can see white lines between the flakes, it means it’s overcooked.”
He recommended serving the salmon alongside hollandaise sauce, blanched asparagus and roasted fennel for a scrumptious meal. To prepare the hollandaise, utilise the butter from the poached salmon to minimise food wastage.
The asparagus merely requires a minute in boiling water, whilst the fennel roasts for 12 to 18 minutes in the oven.
If you’re keen to try this speedy yet scrumptious salmon dish, Mr Robson has kindly shared his recipe.
Poached salmon with asparagus and hollandaise sauce (serves four)
Ingredients
For the salmon
- Salmon (one piece per person)
- Salt
- Sugar
- 200g Unsalted Butter
- Two lemons (juice of half, and the peel of another)
For the hollandaise
- Two egg yolks
- 200g butter (use the mixture from the poached salmon)
- 15ml white wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the asparagus and confit fennel
- 12 asparagus spears (three per person)
- Salt and black pepper
- Pink peppercorns
- One tsp fennel seeds
- One sprig of rosemary
- Olive oil
Method
For the salmon
- Cure the salmon in a mixture of half salt and half sugar for 20 minutes. To calculate the curing ratio, use half the fish’s weight divided by two.
- Wash the salmon off in ice-cold water and pat dry.
- In a bowl, poach the salmon in a mixture of 200g unsalted butter, the juice of half a lemon and the peel of a full lemon. Poach for seven to eight minutes.
- When the salmon is soft to the touch and still pink, remove the fish.
For the hollandaise sauce
- Whisk two egg yolks with 15ml of white wine vinegar.
- Whisk over a bain-marie until the yolks become pale and fluffy and can fold back over themselves easily.
- Pour the warm butter mixture from the poached fish into the yolk mixture and mix, or pour 200g of melted butter into the yolk mixture and mix.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve on top of your salmon.
For the asparagus and fennel
- While the fish is cooking, cook three spears of asparagus per person in boiling water for 60 seconds.
- Slice the fennel in quarters and mix with salt and black pepper, olive oil, a bay leaf, pink peppercorns, one teaspoon of fennel seeds and one spring of rosemary.
- Roast the fennel in the oven at 180 degrees for 12 to 18 minutes.
- Serve both alongside the salmon and drizzle the hollandaise sauce over the top.
