This dish is a fantastic fall recipe that is light but yet hardy. The Alaskan salmon, because of its fattiness, is perfect for sous vide preparation. I lightly smoked the salmon before I sous vide it to give a little more layer of flavor. Then I cooked the salmon until it was just barely cooked through. The texture literally falls apart when your fork touches it. I found some persian mint at the farmers market which is milder, almost leaning towards a oregano in flavor. I made a coconut yogurt-avocado sauce with the Persian mint to give the salmon some depth of flavor. Made chips with the skin of the salmon. I gave the dish more flavor and texture by adding sautéed chanterelles, toasted sourdough, fresh lima beans (that exploded with flavor), along with pomegranate seeds to round out the dish. Jp said it was one of the best tasting salmon dishes he has ever had in his life. Always good when the boss says that and knowing he has had a lot of great food in his lifetime. I served this as an appetizer and served it cold. It can be served hot or cold
1 1/2 lb of Wild Alaskan Salmon cut into 4 oz pieces (6 portions)
1 cup of fresh lima beans blanched
8 oz of chanterelles cut in bite size pieces
1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
1 cup of small diced sourdough croutons
Coconut Mint Sauce
4 oz of coconut yogurt (stiggs)
1 avocado
1/4 cup of persian mint
1 lemon
Salt to taste
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of butter
1 sprig of lemon verbena
Rosemary flowers and Persian mint
For the Salmon,
Using the stove top cold smoked method (without curing first) technique here for the salmon. Smoke for 3-4 minutes and then turn off the heat and allow the salmon to sit in the stove top smoker for 20 minutes without the heat.
Set a water bath with sous vide machine set to 125 degrees. In a cryovac bag add salmon, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of butter, and lemon verbena leaves. Make sure that the pieces of salmon aren't touching each other. Seal and place in water bath. Cook for 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. Take out and allow to cool to room temperature. (note: the salmon should be a medium rare to medium temperature all the way through. Because of the sous vide preparation the salmon should be like cutting butter when the fork goes through it.
For the Persian Mint sauce,
Place all the ingredients into a vita mix and puree until smooth. Season with salt and place in a squeeze bottle.
To finish,
In a small sauté pan add oil, butter, and chanterelles to the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes until tender. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Take the salmon out of the bag and season with sea salt. Then add a few chanterelles, lima beans, croutons, salmon skin pomegranate seeds, mint yogurt sauce, persian mint leaves, and rosemary flowers. Add a little yogurt sauce to the plate and the salmon. Serve and enjoy!
