Poached salmon with lemon and egg caper sauce

Poached Salmon with lemon and egg caper sauce and freekeh tabbouleh. Photos by Steve Shanahan

First published Canberra Times 27 August 2014.

As the frozen veil slowly lifts from Canberra and we enter thaw mode, its time to ditch the meaty, one pot wonders and embrace lighter acidic flavours. Don’t get me wrong - there is a place for the meaty one-pots, but I need a rest from cheek, shank and hinds for a while …… at least until next week. So I opt for moist and succulent poached salmon.

Recently I’ve been reading up on the cultivation of capers, and I am quite captivated by these feisty little buds that grow wild on hillsides throughout the Middle East, Turkey and parts of Asia. Their pickled acidity and brinyness adds a punch to fish dishes and provides a perfect match to this salmon dish. I prefer the bottled capers in salt, rather than the ones in brine as they can tend to be mushy. These can be found in supermarkets or delis.

As it happens, I’ve been lucky enough to score a bucket of juicy, sweet lemons from my sister and some fresh chook eggs from a good friend. This generosity of produce then prompted a forage to Fishco Fyshwick for wild salmon and a pile of fishheads to make a rich, fish stock. This is a bit of extra effort, but I want the flavours to shine through. 

I prepare the fish stock the day before I need it and leave it to reduce, simmering away on the stove for a few hours to extract maximum flavour. The secret to this stock is the roasting of the fish and vegetables first. The cooking smells coming from the kitchen are absolutely sublime as I am swept away on a nut-buttery seafood drift.  If I’d had any reservations about the input needed to make the fish stock as part of this recipe, they were quickly snuffed out. The sauce in this dish only requires one cup of stock, but the extra will keep for about a month in the freezer or for a few days in the fridge. If time is short, use a good quality, store bought fish stock.

To cut through the richness of the salmon, I added a freekeh tabbouleh salad and follow it up with the French classic tarte au citron, featuring both the fresh lemons and delicious chook eggs.

The following quantities serve 6 people.

Rich Fish Stock

Makes about 8 cups

2 onions

4 celery stalks

4 carrots

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Bones and heads of 3 or 4 fish

6 whole peppercorns

1 bottle of dry white wine

4 each sprigs of parsley and thyme

1 bay leaf

salt

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Coarsely chop the onions, carrots and celery. Melt the butter in a large roasting pan and add the vegetables and fish pieces. Roast for 30 minutes.

Transfer the vegetables and fish pieces to a large stockpot and add three and half litres of water, the wine, peppercorns, herbs, bay leaf and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over a medium heat and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for approximately two to three hours. The stock should reduce by half.

Strain the liquid and reserve and discard all of the solids.

Poached Salmon

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced

1 lemon, sliced thinly with skin on

2 bay leaves

6 black peppercorns

2 kilogram piece of centre-cut wild salmon

sprigs of fresh dill and parsley

2 cups of dry white wine

Place carrot, celery, onion, lemon slices, bay leaves and pepper corns into a fish poacher or deep roasting pan large enough to take the fish and vegetables. Rub the salmon with salt and sit on top of the vegetables in the pan. Add the dill, parsley, wine and enough water to just cover the fish.

Place the pan over two hot plates or large burner and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the salmon is just opaque and check for doneness to your liking by separating the flakes gently with a knife. This will take about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the salmon rest in the poaching liquid for ten minutes, then transfer to a board and peel off the skin on the underside of the fish and discard. It will come away easily. Also remove any dark flesh if you prefer.

Carefully lift the salmon onto a platter and remove any bones. Serve warm with the egg caper sauce and freekeh tabbouleh.

Egg Caper Sauce

1 ½ tbsp butter

1 ½ tbsp flour

1 cup Rich Fish Stock

½ cup of heavy cream

2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp salted capers, rinsed

salt and white pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium to low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly to prevent burning. This should take about two minutes.

Gradually whisk in the Rich Fish Stock, then the cream. Bring to a simmer, cook for about one minute, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool. The sauce will thicken a little as it cools.

Stir in the hard-boiled eggs and capers. Season to taste and keep warm over a very low heat until ready to serve over the salmon.

Freekeh Tabbouleh

5 tbsp of freekeh, washed

60g unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

2 pink shallots, finely chopped

½ medium white onion

1 tsp of kosher salt

½ tsp ground allspice

300g of cocktail tomatoes, finely chopped and drained of juice

3 cups of minced flat leaf parsley

½ cup of finely chopped fresh mint leaves

7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5 tbsp lemon juice

Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over a medium heat. Add the garlic, celery, shallots, stirring to cook for about five minutes. Add the washed and drained freekeh stirring to coat with the butter. Add 230 millilitres of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until the freekeh is soft, this should take about ten minutes. Drain the freekeh and vegetables in a colander.

Place the cooked freekeh into a medium sized bowl and add the chopped onion, salt to taste and the allspice. Then add the tomatoes, parsley, mint, oil and lemon juice. Stir to combine and further season to taste. Serve as a side to the poached salmon.

Venison pie with cumquat and star anise

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 Photo by Steve Shanahan

This column first published Canberra Times 8 September 2010 and  an updated version in November 2012.

This pie, now a family favourite started life as a simple and unadorned venison pie. Over the years I’ve modified the recipe to reflect the seasons and our changing tastes.  This recipe is by far my most popular post and still attracts the highest number of hits. The recipe has been scooped up by a number of foodies in the US and appears on websites as diverse as food history and game shooting. 

Venison is a sturdy meat that can be matched with bold and robust aromatics, and like other game meats has a tendency to toughen and tighten up. To avoid this, I generally slow cook my venison and I prefer to use the cuts from the shoulder or the rump, as when slow cooked it falls apart and melts in the mouth. These cuts deliver a rich and gamey pie topped with a crispy, buttery crust.

The Maggie Beer sour cream shortcrust pastry is the only pastry I would consider for this pie, as anything else would sell it short. The richness of the sour cream and the butter is a perfect match for the bold flavours of the meat. If you are a novice at pastry making this recipe is very forgiving and worth a try.

I find that I need to order the venison meat through my butcher as it’s not generally readily available. As this pie is worthy of a special occasion, it would be wise to check the availability of venison with your butcher. If you cannot get your hands on some deer meat, you could easily use beef and still have a delicious result. 

Venison pie is an exceptional special occasion meal, with an incredibly rich, complex and balanced set of flavours that can be served with a creamy mash or my new favourite, creamed cauliflower.  Broad beans or green string beans with a hint of butter and nutmeg work beautifully too. The perfect wine match is a rich Pinot Noir. 

If you cannot obtain cumquats, use 1/4 of an orange, including the skin and flesh. Remove before serving.

To make creamed cauliflower, blend cooked, hot cauliflower with 2 tbsp cream or butter, adding salt and nutmeg to taste.

Venison Filling

4 tbsp olive oil

250 g speck, diced

¼ cup plain flour

1.3 kg cubed venison

2 cloves garlic, chopped

10 golden shallots, diced

6 large mushrooms, sliced

375 ml red wine (pinot is good)

300 ml beef or veal stock

2 tbsp tomato paste

5 whole cumquats, halved and deseeded

½ tsp ground cloves

4 star anise

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 level tsp juniper berries

extra stock if needed

2 sprigs of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Ensure the venison is trimmed of sinew and diced into small pieces. Roll the venison in plain flour, shaking off excess and setting aside. Bruise the juniper berries, cinnamon and cloves in a mortar and pestle. 

Heat the oil on medium heat in a large saucepan then add the shallots and garlic, frying until transparent. Add the juniper, cinnamon and cloves and mix well. Then add the diced venison and speck cooking until browned for about eight minutes. Add the stock, wine, cumquats, star anise, rosemary and mushrooms and cook on medium to high heat until bubbling. 

Reduce heat to low, place the lid on the pan and cook for approximately two to three hours, stirring occasionally until meat is tender and sauce is thick and dark. Add seasoning to taste and set aside to cool. Prepare the pastry while the filling is cooking.

Maggie Beer's Pastry

200 g of chilled unsalted butter, chopped

250 g of plain flour

½ cup of sour cream

1 beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Grease a 23cm deep pie dish. Place the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor, then pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse again until the dough just forms a ball. Carefully wrap the dough in plastic film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Place the cooled filling into the greased pie dish, filling till it is about one centimetre below the rim. Roll out the dough until it is about 5 mm thick, then carefully folding the dough back over the rolling pin, place it over the filled pie dish and press to seal the edges. Cut three slits in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Chill the filled pie for about 20 minutes before cooking as this will reduce shrinkage. 

Remove the pie from the refrigerator and coat the pastry top with beaten egg. Cook the pie for approximately 45 minutes until warmed through and the pastry is lightly golden.