Serves4
- Active Time:20 min
- Start to Finish:50 min
Moderately priced avruga caviar (smoked herring roe from Spain) gives cooks a chance to throw caution to the wind and experiment. Stephen Harris purées it into a slate-gray emulsion, bringing visual drama and a smoky flavor to delicate salmon. Fleur de sel is a good substitute for his house-made sea salt.
January 2007
-
1/2
tablespoon
unsalted butter, softened
-
1/2
teaspoon
fleur de sel plus additional to taste
-
4
(6-oz) pieces center-cut salmon fillet (about 1 inch thick)
-
1/4
cup
crème fraîche
-
2
tablespoons
hot water
-
2
tablespoons
avruga caviar (from a 120-g jar)
-
2
teaspoons
olive oil
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5
oz
baby arugula (7 cups loosely packed)
-
5
oz
mesclun (mixed baby salad greens; 7 cups loosely packed)
-
4
small lime wedges
-
1/2
teaspoon
fresh lime juice
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Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
-
Spread butter over bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel. Put salmon, skin sides down, in dish and bake, uncovered, until just cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.
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About 10 minutes before salmon is done, put crème fraîche in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until just melted. Transfer to a blender along with water and caviar and purée into a very smooth emulsion. Return to saucepan and keep warm, uncovered, over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Thin sauce slightly with a little additional hot water if too thick.
-
Just before salmon is done baking, heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add greens in 3 batches, stirring and turning with tongs until greens are slightly wilted before adding each new batch, and continue to cook, stirring, until completely wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Push greens to one side of skillet and pour off liquid (discarding it). Divide greens among 4 plates. Top greens with salmon and season lightly with fleur de sel, then squeeze some of lime juice from wedges over salmon. Stir 1/2 teaspoon lime juice into sauce and spoon onto plates.
