22.11.05

bayona's salmon 'n' sauerkraut.













UPDATE: The below recipe is, mmm....flawed. So don't make it yet, I'll redo it Winter 2010.

I've been making this to great success lately, but I can never seem to find the recipe when I go looking for it. Bayona is a restaurant in New Orleans that I almost ate at back in my expense account days. I tried to get there last time I was in N.O. (1997?) but failed. Anyway, this is apparently a signature dish of theirs, and this is my modification of it:

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salmon with sauerkraut.


4 tablespoons walnut oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and julienned (I don't normally include this, but would like to)
1 bag of fresh sauerkraut (about 500 grams?), rinsed well under cold water, then drained
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fish or vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed (I have yet to actually include these)
1 tbsp or more fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 125-gram pieces salmon filet
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup additional dry white wine (for sauce)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and add onion and carrot slices. Toss and cook over medium heat until just wilted. Stir in sauerkraut, wine and herbs, spices and broth. Bring to a simmer, cook 5 minutes, and remove to a baking pan or casserole. Add the other 2 tablespoons olive oil to sauté pan and sear salmon pieces, serving side down, until light brown. Turn and sear the other side for 30 seconds. Remove salmon and place on top of sauerkraut in casserole. Bake in oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add wine and vinegar to skillet and reduce to 1/4 of original volume; then add butter, piece by piece, whisking until sauce is creamy. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

To serve, divide choucroute mixture among 4 dinner plates. Top each with a salmon filet and pour sauce over. Accompany with small new potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley.

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4 comments:

frog said...

Salmon with Choucroute and Gewurztraminer Sauce
Susan Spicer
(4 portions)

For the choucroute:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
2 cups sauerkraut (from a jar rather than a can)
¼ cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon juniper berry, crushed
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon black pepper
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For the Gewurztraminer sauce:
1 cup Gewurztraminer (can use Riesling or other Alsatian white wine)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (imported honey-cider vinegar, if you can find it)
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
4 tablespoons unsalted butter pinch of salt
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For the salmon:
4 6-ounce salmon filets
salt and pepper
1 cup breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (or clarified butter)
snipped chives for garnish

Directions:

For the choucroute:
In a sauté pan, heat olive oil and add onion and carrot slices, toss and cook over medium heat until just wilted. Stir in sauerkraut, wine, stock and seasonings. Stir well. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently about 15 minutes. Stir, taste and set aside. If it is a little dry, add a little more stock or water.

For the Gewurztraminer sauce:
In a small pot, combine wine, vinegar and shallots and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer gently until liquid is reduced to about 2-3 tablespoons. Then gradually add butter, small pieces at a time, over medium heat, constantly whisking until all the butter is incorporated. Season with salt to taste. Sauce should be a shiny, creamy yellow.

For the salmon:
Season salmon pieces with salt & pepper and coat with breadcrumbs mixed with parsley. Heat olive oil in skillet and when almost smoking, add salmon pieces serving side down. Lower heat to medium high, add the butter, lifting salmon pieces to allow a little butter to get under each one. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook on second side 3 minutes or so, until salmon is about medium-rare. Cook a little longer if you like it more done, but not long enough to dry it out (please).

To serve:
Divide choucroute among four plates. Top each with a piece of salmon and spoon sauce around and over the fish (do not completely cover the crispy crust with sauce). Sprinkle with chives.

MEM said...

thanks a bunch, frog...that's helpful to look at...

i think my problems with my recipe are mostly due to the fact that it's been evolving (using hard cider instead of white wine, a dash of smoked paprika, etc.) and i'm just too lazy to totally rewrite it. hopefully i'll get to it this winter.

frog said...

I should have mentioned, that is Bayona's recipe for the dish. Susan Spicer is the Chef/Owner of Bayona.

MEM said...

that's OK, i remembered Ms. Spicer from when i initially grabbed the recipe...