E M I L Y K A I S E R : No Matter Which Level, They All Earn High Marks

No Matter What Level, They All Earn High Marks

By Emily Kaiser
The Washington Post
Wednesday, May 11, 2005. p. F6

Citronelle chef Michel Richard has created salmon grilling recipes with three levels of difficulty: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Clean off your grills, pick your level and let the outdoor salmon season begin.

Grilled Garden Salmon
(Beginner)

4 servings

This recipe from Michel Richard requires only a little marinating and some light chopping. While it is best if the salmon fillets can be marinated a day ahead, it's also possible to dress the fish in the curry oil just before grilling. Serve with the salad scattered over top. See the notes on removing pin bones, below.

For the salmon:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon curry powder, preferably Madras
Four 8-ounce center-cut salmon fillets, skinned*
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus oil as needed for the croutons
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4 -inch-thick dice
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
4 ounces (about 10) picholine olives, pitted (may substitute green olives, pitted and brined)
12 macadamia nuts, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot red pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
One 7-inch-long piece of country bread, preferably sourdough

For the salmon:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil, garlic and curry, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat and let cool. Place the salmon fillets in a glass baking dish. Pour the curry oil over the salmon and, using your fingertips, rub the mixture into the salmon. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the salad:
In a bowl, combine the oil, garlic, vinegar, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, olives and macadamias. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut it into 1/2 -inch dice. Spread on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) and season with salt. Toast until crisp and lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

When ready to cook the fillets, prepare the grill for indirect cooking. If it is a charcoal grill, build the fire on one side. If it's a gas grill, turn all the burners to preheat and then turn off one burner just before you begin cooking.

Clean the grate with a grill brush. It is important that the grill be as clean as possible.

Remove the fillets from the marinade, discarding any garlic that sticks to them. Season the fillets with salt and pepper to taste. When the grill is ready, place the fillets in the middle of the grill (the hottest part) to mark it with the grill rods. After they are marked (about 1 minute), rotate them 90 degrees and then move the fillets to the outside edges of the grill to avoid burning or cooking too quickly. Close the top of the grill and cook to your liking, about 10 minutes.
Don't forget that there will be some residual heat that will continue to cook the salmon after it is removed from the grill.

Transfer the fillets to individual plates, top each with freshly ground pepper, the salad and croutons.

*NOTE: Salmon fillets almost always contain small pin bones. To remove them, first run your finger down the center of the fillet, feeling for the tiny bones. Using a pair of tweezers or needle-nose pliers, pull out each bone.

Eggplant Salmon With Tomato Vinaigrette
(Intermediate)
4 servings

For this recipe, it is important to use salmon fillets whose pin bones have been removed (a store fish counter should be able to do this for you); otherwise, the bones will get in the way of the stuffing. Because the fillets can be tender, it's best to "stuff" the salmon only lightly and serve any extra filling in a separate dish.

Chef Richard served his stuffed-side down, so that the eggplant and mozzarella are a surprise, hidden under the grill marks and appearing only after the first bite.

For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Pinch sugar
10 basil leaves, cut into thin strips

For the salmon:
Four 8-ounce pieces salmon (each about 1 1/2 inches thick), skinned*
2 Japanese eggplants* (4 to 5 ounces each)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, diced
9 to 10 garlic chives, cut into 1-inch pieces (may substitute regular chives)

For the vinaigrette:
In a pan over medium heat, heat the oil and onion until the onion softens. Add the tomatoes and sugar and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When cool, mix in the basil and set aside.

For the salmon:
Using a sharp knife and working with the long side of 1 piece of salmon, cut a slit parallel to the work surface to create a pocket, making sure not to cut all the way through the salmon. Create an opening by gently pulling on the side of each slit. Refrigerate until needed.

Halve each eggplant lengthwise. Place each half, cut side down, on a work surface. Cut the eggplant into 1/4 -inch-thick slices.

In a pan over medium heat, heat the oil, garlic and eggplant. When the garlic becomes aromatic, after about 1 minute, add the broth and cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the soy sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool, allowing the cooking liquid to be absorbed by the eggplant.

When the eggplant cools, add the mozzarella, chives, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Stuff the eggplant mixture into the pocket in the side of the salmon.

When the grill is ready, clean the grate with a grill brush. It is important that the
grill be as clean as possible.

Place the stuffed salmon pieces on the grill with the stuffing face up over the direct heat of the grill, leaving them there just long enough for grill marks to form, about 1 minute. Using a wide spatula, carefully move the stuffed salmon pieces to the other side of the grill, rotating them to achieve a crosshatch pattern. Cover the grill and cook to desired degree of doneness, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Using the spatula, carefully remove the stuffed salmon, flipping them over onto individual plates so that the stuffing is a surprise. Top with the tomato vinaigrette.

*NOTES: Salmon fillets almost always contain small pin bones. To remove them, first run your finger down the center of the fillet, feeling for the tiny bones. Using a pair of tweezers or needle-nose pliers, pull out each bone.
Japanese eggplants are long and thin, with a sweet, firmer flesh than conventional eggplants.

Asparagus Salmon
(Advanced)
4 servings

This recipe calls for the best salmon fillets you can find: thick and fresh ones that won't fall apart with handling once the pin bones have been removed.
If only thin fillets are available, there are a few options to make the recipe a little more manageable. The fillet and the asparagus bundle both can be cut into four equal portions first and then stuffed, or the entire fillet can be butterflied or split completely in two, then wrapped around the salmon and secured with four pieces of kitchen twine (to be removed after grilling).

For the vinaigrette:
4 asparagus spears, peeled, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup water
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional to brush the salmon
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Pinch of sugar
Salt

For the salmon:
About 20 (1 1/2 pounds) equally sized asparagus spears, peeled
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
One 8- to 9-inch-long (about 1 1/4 pounds) skinless salmon fillet, preferably center-cut*

For the vinaigrette:
In a small pan, combine the asparagus pieces, water and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place over medium heat and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer the mixture to a blender and process until smooth. Place in a bowl and add the mustard, lemon juice, sugar, remaining olive oil and salt to taste. Whisk to blend thoroughly, and set aside.

For the salmon:
Have a large bowl of ice water ready. In a metal steamer, cook the asparagus just until they are al dente, about 7 minutes. It will cook further on the grill. When it is ready, remove the steamer and place it in the ice water to stop the cooking.

When cooled, remove from the ice water and lay the asparagus on a long piece of heavy plastic wrap. Sprinkle with the chopped tarragon, salt and pepper to taste, rolling the spears to coat evenly with the seasonings. Bundle the spears so that half their tips point one way and half the other, and encase the asparagus in the wrap. Tie one end of the bundle with kitchen twine, and tether it to a table knife along its length.

Place the fillet on a work surface and use a long, thin knife to cut a center pocket through to the other cut side. Work slowly and carefully. Essentially, you are cutting a tunnel through the length of the fillet, leaving at least a 1/2-inch wall uncut on each side.

Using the tethered table knife as a guide, carefully pull the asparagus bundle through the pocket. Unwind the ends of the plastic, slide the wrap from around the asparagus and discard. The salmon should now look like a stuffed log. Place it on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.

When ready to cook the salmon, prepare the grill for indirect cooking. If it's a charcoal grill, build the fire on one side. If it's a gas grill, turn all the burners to preheat and then turn off one burner just before you begin cooking.

When the grill is ready, clean the grate with a grill brush. It is important that the grill be as clean as possible.

Carefully cut the stuffed salmon log into four equal cross-sectioned pieces. If the log pieces are not tight, tie each one around the circumference with kitchen twine to hold it together. (Be sure to remove the twine after the fish is grilled.) Brush each piece with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Turn the bundles onto one of the narrower sides and carefully place over direct heat on the grill. After 1 minute, use a wide spatula to transfer each piece off of the direct heat and onto the cooler side of the grill, rotating the bundles 90 degrees to get a crosshatching of grill marks on the bottom side. Cover the grill and let cook to desired degree of doneness, about 10 minutes.

Spoon some of the vinaigrette on the center of each plate. Using a wide spatula, carefully transfer the salmon pieces to individual serving plates, flipping each so the crosshatched side faces up. Serve with the remaining vinaigrette on the side.

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