If you are not a purist who believes you should NEVER have cheese with fish/seafood, here’s a recipe that sounds absolutely wonderful and I just put ~5 lbs. of salmon in the freezer!! Does this just sound delicious or what?
Pan-Grilled Salmon on Braised Leeks with Parmigiano-Reggiano
Serves 4
Suggested wine: Pinot Grigio; Soave
4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
6 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, rinsed, & cut into 1/2” slices
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Kosher or Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 center-cut salmon fillets (about 6 oz. each), skin on and scaled, pin bones removed, skin dried by wiping with a knife. (see note below)
2 T. olive oil
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
In a 10” sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat & swirl to coat the pan. Add the leeks and sauté, stirring frequently, till they just begin to brown, 8-10 min. (Reduce the heat to low if the leeks begin to darken and get crisp at the edges.)
Add the broth, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat so the broth is barely at a simmer, partially cover the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced and the leeks are very tender, 35-45 min. (The leeks should be very moist but not soupy at all.)
Uncover and raise the heat to reduce the liquid, if necessary. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.
To pan-grill the salmon, rub it on all sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan, preferably cast iron, over high heat until almost smoking. Add the salmon, skin side up, and sear on one side till beautiful grill marks are etched across the fillets. About 4 minutes. (If desired, after 3 min., turn the fillet a quarter turn, still skin side up, to create crosshatch marks.)
Turn the fillets, skin side down, and cook till the salmon is almost opaque throughout, but still very moist, or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers between 125F. and 130F, about 4 minutes longer.
To serve, place a portion of braised leeks in the center of 4 warmed dinner plates or shallow pasta bowls. Top with a piece of salmon and scatter a generous amount of the Parmesan over the salmon and leeks. Serve immediately. (It will seem like an overly generous amount of Parmesan to scatter over the top, but it’s perfect and utterly delicious)
NOTE: Skin-drying Salmon - to make the skin “wafer-thin crunchy” (Jean’s note – Salmon skin is like eating candy, if you have not tried it!!) . The critical technique is to remove as much water as possible from the skin of the fish before cooking it.
“Remove some of that water mechanically, by drawing a knife blade firmly back and forth over the fish, the way a wiper blade moves across a windshield. The pressure compresses the skin and squeezes the water to the surface, and the knife blade carries it away. Repeat this until no more water rises to the surface.” Periodically wipe the knife blade clean with a paper towel to remove what looks like grayish scum.
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This recipe is from a book by Diane Morgan, “Salmon” – it’s a gorgeous, mouth-watering cookbook!!!!! She has a Salmon Hash that is next on my list!
Man, I hope Ron gives in and comes back to the forum to see this one!!!!
Pan-Grilled Salmon on Braised Leeks with Parmigiano-Reggiano
Serves 4
Suggested wine: Pinot Grigio; Soave
4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
6 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, rinsed, & cut into 1/2” slices
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Kosher or Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 center-cut salmon fillets (about 6 oz. each), skin on and scaled, pin bones removed, skin dried by wiping with a knife. (see note below)
2 T. olive oil
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
In a 10” sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat & swirl to coat the pan. Add the leeks and sauté, stirring frequently, till they just begin to brown, 8-10 min. (Reduce the heat to low if the leeks begin to darken and get crisp at the edges.)
Add the broth, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat so the broth is barely at a simmer, partially cover the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced and the leeks are very tender, 35-45 min. (The leeks should be very moist but not soupy at all.)
Uncover and raise the heat to reduce the liquid, if necessary. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.
To pan-grill the salmon, rub it on all sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan, preferably cast iron, over high heat until almost smoking. Add the salmon, skin side up, and sear on one side till beautiful grill marks are etched across the fillets. About 4 minutes. (If desired, after 3 min., turn the fillet a quarter turn, still skin side up, to create crosshatch marks.)
Turn the fillets, skin side down, and cook till the salmon is almost opaque throughout, but still very moist, or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers between 125F. and 130F, about 4 minutes longer.
To serve, place a portion of braised leeks in the center of 4 warmed dinner plates or shallow pasta bowls. Top with a piece of salmon and scatter a generous amount of the Parmesan over the salmon and leeks. Serve immediately. (It will seem like an overly generous amount of Parmesan to scatter over the top, but it’s perfect and utterly delicious)
NOTE: Skin-drying Salmon - to make the skin “wafer-thin crunchy” (Jean’s note – Salmon skin is like eating candy, if you have not tried it!!) . The critical technique is to remove as much water as possible from the skin of the fish before cooking it.
“Remove some of that water mechanically, by drawing a knife blade firmly back and forth over the fish, the way a wiper blade moves across a windshield. The pressure compresses the skin and squeezes the water to the surface, and the knife blade carries it away. Repeat this until no more water rises to the surface.” Periodically wipe the knife blade clean with a paper towel to remove what looks like grayish scum.
-----
This recipe is from a book by Diane Morgan, “Salmon” – it’s a gorgeous, mouth-watering cookbook!!!!! She has a Salmon Hash that is next on my list!
Man, I hope Ron gives in and comes back to the forum to see this one!!!!
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
www.achefsjourney.com
) and I for sure did not care for her way of cooking the salmon. I had planned on grilling it, but it was just raining too hard to be out there - and decided to give it a try. Uh-huh.
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