Friday 30 December 2011

Poached Salmon with Herb Dressing.


Now this is a lovely light, healthy and refreshing dish to counteract all the excesses of Christmas.

For Random Recipes this month, Dom asked us to make space for new Christmas pressies by choosing a cookbook to donate to charity and cooking a random recipe from it before giving it away.  I did have a look at all my books but as we moved house this year, we had already done a massive clear out and the only books we had left were ones we really wanted to keep.  

I did, however, remember that a friend of mine had been clearing out some of her old copies of Everyday Food magazine by Martha Stewart and had given me a great big bag of them.  I had intended to go through them all and pass the ones I had finished with to another friend of ours.  Well, it had been some time since I had passed any on to her so I thought I could use one of them for this challenge and get started passing on the magazines again.

The recipe randomly chosen was from Issue 51 of Everyday Food from Martha Stewart and I have changed it quite a bit. The original recipe can be found on the Martha Stewart website here.



Recipe - Poached Salmon Salad with Herb Dressing.
Serves 4.

Ingredients.
4 skinless salmon fillets
zest of 1 lemon, peeled into strips
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
sea salt and ground pepper
1 clove of garlic
200g creme fraiche
1 handful fresh tarragon leaves
1 handful fresh parsley leaves
1 packet of baby salad leaves
1/2 cucumber diced or handful cherry tomatoes, halved

Method.
1. Place salmon in a pan and cover with cold water.  Add lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.  Bring to the boil over a high heat.  Cover, remove from the heat and let stand until salmon is opaque throughout, about 15 mins.
2. In a blender, combine creme fraiche, lemon juice, garlic, tarragon and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Blend until smooth and set aside.
3. Divide salad and cucumber/tomatoes over four plates.  Top with poached salmon (leave whole or flake) and drizzle with dressing.


13 comments:

  1. I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas! This looks like the perfect way to start the new year - light and fresh.

    Happy New Year, hope you enjoy the celebrations!

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  2. do you know, even though its only 9am in the morning I could actually eat this right now... so healthy, clean and fresh and exactly what we need for cutting through all the excess! I REALLY appreciate that you've taken the time to join in this month and I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year.. Dom xx

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  3. That looks fantastic! So tasty and vibrant and a great antidote to all the festive stodge (yummy stodge, don't get me wrong!). You've got me thinking about tarragon now, and what I could make with some...

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  4. Looks delicious - just the right thing for this time of year. You have cooked the salmon perfectly for my taste :-)

    Best wishes for 2012

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  5. This has great possibilities, and I can't wait to try it!

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  6. came over from dom's! love how clean and fresh this is. it may look simple, but i often think the simplest food, cooked perfectly, is actually not that simple and that salmon looks perfectly poached, still moist and tender. great for a fresh start to 2012(: have a great new year's! x

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  7. Wish I was having this for my tea now!

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  8. This looks a perfect antidote to all the Christmas stuff and stuffing! Great recipe, a simple weekday supper. GG

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  9. Hello

    Good Day, i have been trying to create a nice blog post
    and i saw yours and i found it very interesting keep up
    the good work i'll be back for more

    Kathy
    www.healthandwellnessconsultants.com

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  10. I love the contrast of the salmon pink with the vivid green. Very tempting.

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  11. C - I am struggling to keep things light and fresh - we still have Christmas cake and lots and lots of chocolate! :-)

    Dom - :-) Already planning my next Random Recipe.

    Ruth - vibrant - great word!

    BVG - Hope you have had some time to relax over the past few weeks.

    Misk - yes- endless variation possible, I think.

    Shu Han - I agree and lovely to have a fresh start. I do actually love the spirit of New Year.

    Lesley - :-) Thanks. That's the problem with food blogs - they just make you hungry ALL THE TIME!!!!!

    GG - I do like simple suppers. Usually don't have the time or energy for faffing.

    Kathy - thanks

    Kath - it is quite pretty, isn't it?

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  12. That looks GORGEOUS, I love it! Must make a note of it...

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  13. I love the look of this salad, think I'm in need of a good dose of salmon! Happy New Year.

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