This recipe slow-bakes the fish at low temperature, allowing the finest qualities of the salmon to take center stage, and complements it with the crunch of the salad and the spice of the tasso ham. Both the salmon and the sauce are done in 20 minutes, allowing time to prepare the salad while the other two components cook. The salmon may appear uncooked, but trust the cake tester.
Salmon
- 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
- Salt, olive oil
Salad
- 4 cups pole beans
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
- 1 cup diced tasso ham
- Extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and lemon to taste
Broth
- 1 pound chopped tasso ham
- 1 cup chopped shallots
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup broth, fish or chicken
- 1⁄4 cup butter
- 1⁄4 cup cream
Broth
1. Start sauce by combining 3 tablespoons butter, shallots, bay leaves and tasso ham in a sauté pan over medium heat until shallots soften.
2. Deglaze the pan with white wine, add stock, then cream, and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.
3. When done, strain sauce, adjust with a touch of butter and lemon juice, and just before serving, froth with a hand blender.
Salmon
4. Lightly salt salmon fillets, coat with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet in a 200-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in thick portion of the fillet comes out warm.
Salad
5. Add pole beans to boiling, salted water. When beans are just soft-crunchy, remove from boiling water and shock in ice water to halt cooking.
6. Combine beans, tomatoes and diced tasso ham, and dress with olive oil and a splash of vinegar.
7. Make a bed of salad on the plate, place salmon fillet alongside, and spoon frothed sauce over the fish.
