Poached Salmon Fillets With Watercress Mayonnaise Recipes

TRADITIONAL POACHED SALMON

Steps:

• Drizzle the olive oil over the salmon fillets and season with some sea salt and white pepper. Set aside.
• Fill a high-sided large skillet one-third of the way up with water. Add the wine and lemon halves. Bring to a low simmer, add the salmon and let cook until firm to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes for medium. For well-done salmon, cook for 10 minutes.
• Serve garnished with the lemon wedges and parsley.

POACHED SALMON WITH WATERCRESS AND PEACHES

Steps:

• Poach salmon: In a large straight-sided skillet, combine 6 cups water, lemon slices, peppercorns, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; bring to a simmer over medium-high, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Add salmon (water should just cover fish), cover, and cook until opaque throughout, 5 to 8 minutes. With a wide, slotted spatula, transfer salmon to a plate.
• To serve: Whisk together lemon zest and juice, oil, and mustard; season with salt and pepper. Divide watercress, peaches, and basil among 4 plates, top with salmon, and drizzle with dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

POACHED SALMON ON WATERCRESS WITH CITRUS VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• To make the salmon: Combine all ingredients except the salmon in a medium skillet or saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides, add to simmering liquid, and cover. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until just done.
• To make the vinaigrette: Whisk together the olive oil and citrus juices, add the dill, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Toss the watercress with 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the watercress on a large platter and place the salmon in the center. Drizzle with additional vinaigrette and garnish with dill.

PARCEL-POACHED SALMON WITH HERBY MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• The salmon fillets need to be skinless and boneless, so if you can't get your fishmonger to do it, you'll need to do it yourself: to remove the pin bones, stroke your hand along the flesh side of the fillets and use tweezers or pliers to pull out any bones you come across. Then, to remove the skin, you'll need a very sharp knife, preferably a filleting knife. Take each fillet in turn and place skin -side down on the board with the narrowest end facing you. Slide your knife in between the skin and the flesh from the tail end, and wiggle your knife to loosen and pull away the skin. Firmly take hold of the tail skin you have loosened and, working away from yourself, cut along the length of the fish, while moving the knife side to side. Keep the blade of your knife as flat and close to the skin as possible so as not to leave any flesh on the skin. Repeat with the second fillet.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Take a very large sheet of extra-wide foil (turkey foil works well), and lightly brush with olive oil. Place one salmon fillet on the foil and scatter over the sliced lemons, dill and half the fennel, and season generously. Place the second salmon fillet on top, domed side up. Season and drizzle with the wine.
• Top with a second sheet of greased foil and fold up the edges to enclose the salmon in a parcel. Make the parcel quite loose so there is room for the steam. Lift onto a large baking tray and cook for 1 hr then remove and allow to rest in the foil for 10 mins.
• While the salmon cooks, make the mayonnaise. Place the yolks and the mustard in a medium bowl, adding a pinch of salt, if you like. Pour the oil into a jug as you will need a controlled steady stream. Briefly whisk the eggs and start to drizzle on the oil very slowly, starting with a few drips at a time while continuously whisking.
• Continue adding the oil. When the mayonnaise starts to come together, you can add the oil slightly quicker. Continue until all the oil has been added. If the mayonnaise curdles at any point, you can rescue it by cracking another yolk into a clean bowl and whisking the curdled mayonnaise into the fresh egg. Continue doing this then add any remaining oil.
• When your mayonnaise is made, slowly stir in the vinegar and enough of the lemon juice to your taste - add more if you like it quite lemony. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the chopped herbs. Keep chilled until the salmon is ready.
• Mix the cucumber with some of the dill and the rest of the fennel. When the salmon has rested, cut the foil open and use two fish slices to carefully transfer the fish to a long serving platter. Sprinkle with the dill and garnish with lemon cheeks. Serve with the herby mayonnaise and cucumber salad.

FOIL-POACHED SALMON WITH HERBY MAYO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/ gas 2. Place a large piece of double-width foil on top of a large baking sheet and brush it with oil, then put the salmon in the centre. Tuck a few generous sprigs of dill and the shallots in the body cavity, then season.
• Carefully bring up the sides of the foil to surround the fish, season well inside and out, then pour over the wine.
• Seal the foil all the way round, but not too tightly on the fish - you need to give it a bit of space within the parcel. Bake for 1 hr 30 mins.
• Once the salmon has cooked, carefully unwrap the foil parcel and pull the dorsal fin on the spine of the fish. If the salmon is ready, it should come away very easily. Reseal the parcel and leave to cool - it will carry on cooking a little more as it cools. If you are not sure that the salmon is cooked sufficiently, return it to the oven for 10 mins more.
• When cold, carefully peel away the skin from one side of the salmon. You may need to use a knife to get you started, but it should peel away easily after that. Leave the cooked dill and shallot in place, as you may damage the flesh of the salmon if you try to remove them.
• Use a knife to scrape off the brown fatty flesh. It tastes delicious but doesn't look as attractive as the pink flesh underneath. Carefully turn the salmon over onto a platter and remove the skin and brown flesh from the other side.
• To serve, carefully remove the fillets from one side of the fish, leaving behind the bones. You will see that the fish has a natural divide of 2 long fillets on each side. Insert your knife along the centre and carefully ease off each fillet. Transfer the fillets to a platter, bone-side up.
• Lift up the central bone from the remaining whole fish - it should come away in one piece - and remove the aromatics. Ease the 2 remaining fillets apart and remove any pin bones. Reassemble the salmon on the platter. Stir the herbs into your mayonnaise and garnish the salmon with watercress, cucumber, herbs and lemon.

WATERCRESS MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Mix together 1 tbsp each lemon juice and white wine vinegar. In a measuring jug, mix 100ml olive oil and 200ml groundnut or vegetable oil.
• In a food processor, whizz 2 egg yolks with 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard and a generous pinch of salt until fully mixed. With the processor still running, add a few drops of the oil mix, incorporating each drop before adding the next. Now very slowly drizzle the oil in - the mayo should begin to thicken and then stiffen. If the mixture looks too thick, add 1 tsp of your lemon/vinegar mix. Keep adding the oil in the same way, alternating with 1 tsp at a time of the lemon/vinegar mix, until all the oil is incorporated and the mayo is the required consistency. Now whizz in ½ small crushed garlic clove.
• Whizz a 75g bag watercress, leaves and stalks, with the mayo and season. Add a little warm water, lemon juice or vinegar to loosen, if needed. Chill and use within 1 day - great with poached salmon.

FOIL-POACHED SALMON WITH DILL & AVOCADO MAYO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Put the salmon on a large sheet of oiled extra-wide foil (this will stop it from sticking later). Put the onion, bay leaves and half the dill in the body cavity, spoon over the wine, season with salt and black pepper, then loosely bring the foil round the salmon and seal well to make a parcel. Lift onto a baking tray, then bake for 2 hrs. Take from the oven, then leave to cool for about 10 mins, still in its parcel.
• Meanwhile, whizz the flesh from the avocados (with a hand blender or in a food processor) with the mayo, lemon juice, zest and seasoning. Tip into a bowl. Chop the remaining dill, stir in with the cucumber, then transfer to a serving bowl. Chill for up to 3 hrs.
• Unwrap the salmon, then strip away the skin and fins. Personally, I don't take the skin from the bottom of the fish if I am serving the salmon warm, as you risk breaking the fish up as you turn it over. It is more robust when it is cold, so in this case remove the skin from both sides. You can leave the head on or take off at this stage. Carefully lift onto a platter, then garnish with watercress, cucumber, lemon wedges and dill, if using.
• To serve, remove the fish in chunky fillets. When all the fish has gone from the top fillet, remove the onion and herb flavouring, pull away the bones, then remove portions of the bottom fillet, leaving the skin behind. Eat with the avocado mayo, warm buttery new potatoes, and salads or green beans.

POACHED SALMON WITH LEMON MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• For salmon:
• Combine first 5 ingredients in deep skillet. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Add salmon, cover and simmer until just cooked through, about 9 minutes per inch of thickness. Transfer salmon to plate, using 2 spatulas as aid. Reserve liquid in skillet. Cool salmon. Cover and chill until cold. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)
• For Mayonnaise:
• Boil salmon poaching liquid in skillet until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon peel, chives and parsley in medium bowl. Mix in 1 tablespoon poaching liquid. Season to taste with pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Line platter with lettuce. Top with salmon. Make cut in each lemon slice from center to edge. Twist lemon slices and place atop salmon. Garnish with lemon wedges and tomatoes and serve with mayonnaise.

SIMPLE POACHED SALMON

Steps:

• In a large, deep, straight-sided skillet or heavy pot, combine carrots, celery, onion, lemon, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 8 minutes.
• Season salmon with salt and gently lower into simmering liquid (liquid should just cover fish). Reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook until salmon is opaque throughout, about 5 minutes (longer for thicker fillets). Using a wide slotted spatula, remove salmon from liquid.