Recipes

Poached Coho Salmon with Salsa Verde

1 cup dry white wine
1-2 bay leaves, lightly crushed
a few sprigs of thyme
a few peppercorns
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
½ a mild onion, thinly sliced
½ a lemon, sliced
salt to taste
4 each 6-ounce portions of Coho salmon filet (or any type of salmon)
½ a recipe salsa verde (see Market Chefs recipes)

To poach the fish:

Choose a shallow pan with a lid that will accommodate your fish. To make the poaching liquid (court bouillon), add all of the ingredients to the pot except the fish. Place the fish in the pan, add water to cover the fish by ½ inch, and remove the fish from the pan.
Bring the court bouillon to a boil over medium-high heat, lower to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste the court bouillon for salt – it should be pleasantly salty and aromatic with your flavoring ingredients.
Slip the fish into the poaching liquid and immediately lower the flame so that the fish is just barely simmering – almost not simmering, rather sitting in the hot liquid anticipating a simmer! Cover the pan. If desired, the fish can be removed from the stove and placed in a preheated 350 degree oven to cook.
Poach the fish until it is just cooked through. A general rule is 9 minutes per inch of fish.
Remove the cooked fish from the court bouillon and place on a plate to allow excess
liquid to run off. When ready to serve, lift the fish to a serving plate and top with a generous amount of salsa verde.

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We are very fortunate in the Pacific Northwest to have access to fresh salmon at our farmers markets. It seemed a no-brainer to select Coho salmon from vendor Wild Oregon for our “How to Fashion a Meal from Today’s Market” demonstration (August 3, 2008) – the possibilities seem endless. Few proteins are as accommodating to such a wide variety of preparations and accompaniments as fresh fish, and with the wealth of produce available at the market, the only difficulty was in deciding which preparation to demonstrate.

We chose to poach the salmon for several reasons. Poaching allows for the pure flavor of salmon to shine through, rather than the smoky char of the grill or crispy caramelization that happens when it is seared in a skillet, albeit both deliciously legitimate preparations. Poaching is a very healthful no-added-fat but high flavor cooking method for fish. Lastly, salmon takes particularly well to gentle cooking methods. ‘Low and slow’ heat is the key to silken poached salmon. That and a flavorful liquid in which to simmer your fish.