Life’s an upstream battle when you’re a salmon. They really don’t have it easy. There’s a brief window of calm at the outset, true, when they roam the freshwater stream that’s their home, but even then they’re orphaned on day one (their exhausted parents die after spawning), so it’s hardly plain sailing. Before long, it’s time to leave the comfort zone and head into the more arduous conditions of the salty northern ocean waters. They live there for between one and four years, growing strong and fat, before it’s time to return home in an Olympian effort that brings them back to the exact same spot where they started. Fewer than one in 1,000 make it home.
The fate of the salmon we eat is similarly gloomy. For all their fitness, courage and versatility, salmon is still regarded as the “boring” or “predictable” choice on a menu: the fishy equivalent of a plain chicken breast. For some reason, it’s not cool to come out as a salmon lover.
The choice to eat salmon in the first place is also not straightforward. Most of the salmon we eat in the UK comes from farms in Scotland. Plainly a good thing, you’d think, considering dwindling wild stocks; but fish farming comes with its own controversies, particularly regarding how and what we feed those fish, and the environmental impact that intensive farming has on the surrounding waters.
There aren’t any easy answers, so I’d urge you seriously tolook into the certification of the salmon you eat. From a cook’s point of view, meanwhile, we should all do our bit to ensure that it’s no longer seen as a boring choice. Here are three dishes that I hope will help.
Salmon fishcakes with garam masala, chilli and ginger
I’ve had mixed results when tryingto pop amaranth, a seed that’srich in protein and nutrients, and popular in Asia and South America; it adds a glorious crunch when fried and sprinkled over meat, vegetables or fish. But now I’ve found it ready-popped at my local healthfood shop; you can also get it online. Failing that, use breadcrumbs, preferably panko. Makes eight cakes, to serve four.
600g skinned and boned salmon fillet, finely chopped by hand into 2-3mmdice
3 spring onions, trimmed and finelychopped
2 tsp garam masala
1 green chilli, deseeded and finelychopped
20g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
4cm piece ginger, peeled and finelygrated
1 egg, lightly whisked
60g popped amaranth seeds (or panko breadcrumbs)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
60ml sunflower oil
120g soured cream
1 lime, quartered, to serve
In a large bowl, mix the salmon, spring onion, garam masala, chilli, coriander, ginger and egg. Add 15g of popped amaranth, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then shape into eight patties about 10cm in diameter and 1.5cm thick. One at a time, dip these in the remaining amaranth, and press it on to the cakes so they are densely coated all over.
Pour half the oil into a large frying pan and put it on a high heat. Once hot, fry half the fishcakes for five minutes, turning them halfway through, so they go golden and crisp on both sides. Set aside somewhere warm and cook the remaining fishcakes. Serve at once with a spoon of soured cream on top and awedge of lime alongside.
Quick-cured salmon pumpernickel sandwich
Serves six as a starter.
80ml cider vinegar
1¼ tsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced into pinwheels
400g skin-on salmon fillet from the tailend, pinboned
140g radishes, thinly sliced
¼ medium celeriac, peeled and julienned
¾ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
100g soured cream
1½ tsp Dijon mustard
15g dill leaves
10g tarragon leaves
250g pumpernickel, or otherGerman-style rye bread
1½ tsp black mustard seeds, gently toasted
Put the vinegar and sugar in a non-metallic bowl with a teaspoon of salt. Add the onion and set aside for10 minutes. Strain the onion, reserving the juices, and set both to one side separately.
Starting from the tail end, use avery sharp knife to cut the salmon on an angle into very thin slices. Cut right down to the skin, then lift the slices up and away, much as you would when carving a side of smoked salmon. Once all the fillet issliced, discard the skin. Lay the slices on a plate and brush with the onion pickling juices. Turn over and repeat on the other side, then set aside for 10 minutes.
For the salad, put the reserved pickled onion in a large bowl and add the radishes, celeriac, cumin, lemon juice, oil, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir well and set aside. In asmall bowl, stir together the soured cream, Dijon mustard and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt.
When ready to serve, stir the dill and tarragon into the salad. Divide the slices of pumpernickel between six plates and lay slices of salmon ontop. Spoon two-thirds of the mustard cream dressing over the salmon and top the fish with a handful of the salad. Drizzle over the remaining dressing, sprinkle with mustard seeds and serve at once with a final drizzle of oil.
Sauternes-poached salmon salad with french beans and barley
When asparagus is in season, substitute two thirds of the beans for asparagus, blanching the spears for a minute less than the beans cooked here. Serves six as a starter.
50g pearl barley
500g piece salmon fillet, skin on, pinboned
250ml sauternes
2 bay leaves
5g thyme sprigs
5 whole allspice
15 black peppercorns
Salt and black pepper
1½ tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
400g french beans, topped and cut inhalf widthways on an angle
3 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on an angle
5g tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
15g chervil leaves (or small parsley leaves)
90g cream cheese (or mascarpone)
¼ tsp nigella seeds
Put the barley in a medium saucepan and cover generously with water. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to medium and simmer for up to 40 minutes, until the grains are cooked but still retain a bite. Drain, refresh and set aside to dry.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the salmon skin side down in a 26cm x 18cm baking dish. Add the wine, bay leaves, thyme, allspice and peppercorns, and sprinkle the fish with a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Cover the dish withboth parchment paper and foil, and bake on the middle shelf for 14-18 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish is just cooked but still pink in the middle. Remove from the oven and carefully strain the cooking liquids into a small pan; discard the aromatics. Cover the fish with foil and set it to one side.
Put the liquid pan on a medium-high heat and reduce for about 10 minutes, until you have two tablespoons of thick liquor left.
Leave to cool slightly, then whisk in the lemon juice, two tablespoons of the oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of pepper.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and cook for four to five minutes, until al dente. Strain, refresh under cold water and set aside to dry (you can speed this along by spreading the beans out ona clean tea towel).
Put the beans in a large bowl and mix in the barley, spring onion, tarragon, two-thirds of the chervil (or parsley), the remaining oil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and divide between six plates. Break thesalmon into big chunks, removing any skin, and arrange overeach portion. Dot small spoonfuls of cream cheese on top and dribble over the dressing. Sprinkle over the nigella seeds and remaining chervil, and serve.
Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
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