Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Seafood
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Large carrot and onion cut
-into neat 1/4-inch dice
2 Or 3 tender celery stalks,
-neatly diced
2 tb Unsalted butter
-----SEASONINGS-----
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
And dried tarragon
2 lb Skinless fillet of salmon
-about 1/2 inch thick
1 1/2 c Dry white French vermouth
MASTER RECIPE Braised Whole Fillet of Salmon in Wine
and Aromatic Vegetables
For 6 to 8 servings:
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT SUGGESTED:
A no-stick frying pan for the diced vegetables;
tweezers or pliers to remove bones; a lightly buttered
baking dish that will just hold the fish comfortably
(or an ovenproof baking and serving platter, or,
lacking either, cut the fish in half crosswise, and
reassemble it after cooking- the vegetables will mask
the surgery); buttered wax paper to cover fish.
THE AROMATIC VEGETABLES:
Cook the diced vegetables slowly in the butter until
quite tender but not browned- about 10 minutes.
Season lightly with salt, pepper, and a big pinch of
dried tarragon.
PREPARING THE FISH:
Go over the salmon carefully with your fingers to
detect any little bones; pull them out with tweezers
or pliers. Score the skin side of the fish. Dust with
salt and pepper, and place best side up in the baking
dish.
ASSEMBLING:
Spread the cooked diced vegetables over the fish, and
pour 1/2 inch of vermouth around it. Cover the fish
with the wax paper, buttered side down.
*Ahead-of-time note:
May be assembled an hour or more ahead to this point;
cover and refrigerate.
BAKING: 12 to 15 minutes at 350F:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Set the fish in the lower
middle level, and, when beginning to bubble lightly,
baste the surface with the liquid in the dish, basting
several times again until the flesh feels lightly
springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven, and, holding the fish in place
with a pot cover, drain the cooking juices into a
saucepan. Slide the fish onto a hot platter; cover
and keep warm while making the sauce.
VARIATIONS:
AU NATURAL: Braised Salmon Served in Its Own Juices:
Rapidly boil down the cooking juices in the saucepan
until almost syrupy. Pour them over the fish and
vegetables, and serve.
AROMATIC WHITE BUTTER SAUCE:
The usual and lovely butter sauce of modern cookery
can be as rich and buttery as you wish-from 3 or 4
tablespoons to half a pound. Using the preceding
boiled-down juices as a base, proceed to beat in the
butter as in the lemon-butter sauce for the broiled
fish on page 83.
WINEY CREAM SAUCE:
A reasonable and equally delectable compromise is a
light veloute sauce made with the cooking juices, then
boiled down with cream, as follows. Cook together 2
1/2 Tbs butter and 3 Tbs flour 2 minutes without
coloring; off heat whisk in the hot braising juices
and 1 cup heavy cream. Boil slowly until reduced to 1
1/2 cups; season carefully.
(Full details for veloute sauce are on page 272.)
Either serve the fish cloaked in its vegetables and
accompany with the sauce, or fold the vegetables into
the sauce and spoon over the fish.
From "The Way to Cook", Julia Child, Alfred Knopf,
1989. ISBN 0-394-53264-3
