Poached Salmon with Vegetable Mash

Weekends are for cooking! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients (serves 2)

Poaching Liquid
- 1 teaspoon of oil
- quarter teaspoon of garlic
- a chilli padi, de-seeded
- half a carrot
- a stick of celery
- half a white onion
- 2 inches of leek
- 100ml of water or stock

Salmon
- 2 100g fillets washed and patted dry
- chopped dill weed

Asparagus
- 1 packet of thai asparagus with stalks trimmed to equal lengths

Vegetable Mash
- cooked vegetables from poaching liquid
- 1 large potato
- 20g of butter
- 20ml of whipping cream
- salt and pepper

Hollandaise Sauce
- 1 egg yolk
- 50g butter, clarified
- juice of slightly less than half a lemon
- salt and pepper

Method

Poaching Liquid
- rough cut all the vegetables to small bite sized pieces
- sweat vegetables in oil, add water/stock and simmer for 10min
- drain and reserve both liquid and cooked vegetables

Vegetable Mash
- boil potato, leaving skin on
- quarter the potato and throw into food processor with cooked vegetables, butter and cream
- pulse to desired consistency and add salt and pepper to taste

Asparagus
- blanch half the packet for 1 min in poaching liquid
- soak in cold water to stop cooking

Hollandaise (i used leftover sauce from poached eggs, you can easily buy it)
- whisk egg over a pot of gently simmering water till it forms ribbons and resists the motion of your hand
- add lemon juice
- drizzle in a bit of clarified butter slowly and incorporate fully before adding more(do this slowly or the sauce will split)
- continue until all the butter is used up and you have a thick sauce
- add salt and pepper to taste

Salmon
- bring poaching liquid to a vigorous simmer
- place salmon in liquid and baste with spoon for about 6 to 7 min
(5 min for an uncooked center)

Plating
how you plate it is up to you really, just don't put the hollandaise on the poached fish because the water on the fish will make it run.

don't forget to sprinkle dill on the salmon for colour.

for dessert i whipped up...


...maple cheesecakes.