Aug 10, 2012
These recipes feature the best of British Columbia's seafood bounty and showcase a couple of great grilling techniques.
Both
recipes are from my cookbook, Barbecue Secrets DELUXE!,
now available as an iBook from the iTunes Store.
Wild BC Salmon with Homemade Tartar Sauce and
Tomato Salad
Makes 4 servings
Rob
Clarke, Executive Chef of C Restaurant, Nu Restaurant, and Raincity
Grill is the best seafood chef in Vancouver, and that’s saying
something. This is his recipe, adapted for the grill. It’s a
sophisticated version of a salmon grilling technique I learned many
years ago that’s as easy as pie and as delicious as it gets. The
concept is to slather a side of salmon with mayo, put it on a hot
grill, skin side down, and cook it until the salmon is done and the
mayo has sort of set, like a savory pudding, on the fish. Pair this
salmon with some BC Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc.
For the
tartar sauce:
1 cup |
250 mL mayonnaise
2 tsp |
10 mL dried dill
3 Tbsp
| 45 mL finely chopped cornichons (gherkins)
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL finely chopped stuffed green olives
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL finely chopped shallots
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL finely chopped capers
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL finely chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp
| 30 mL lemon juice
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL Dijon mustard 15 mL
For the
salmon:
four 6
oz | 175 g boneless wild BC salmon fillets (skin on) (Rob
prefers pink salmon but coho or sockeye also work well)
sea
salt
For the
tomato salad:
2 Tbsp
| 30 mL extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp |
10 mL rice wine vinegar
1 tsp |
5 mL Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL finely minced shallot
1/8 tsp
| .5 mL cayenne pepper
kosher
salt and freshly ground pepper
4
medium fresh heirloom tomatoes (yellow ones work nicely)
Prepare the tartar sauce by combining the mayonnaise, dill,
cornichons, olives, shallots, capers, parsley, lemon juice, and
mustard until well blended. Set the mixture aside.
Prepare the tomato salad by whisking together all the ingredients
except the tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch | 6 mm
rounds. Gently toss the tomato slices in the vinaigrette and divide
the salad between 4 serving plates.
Season the salmon fillets with salt and let them sit for 10
minutes.
Prepare your grill for medium direct heat. Place the salmon
fillets, skin-side-down, on the cooking grate and slather each of
them with 1 Tbsp | 15 mL of the tartar sauce. Cover the grill and
cook the salmon for 5–7 minutes, until the fillets reach an
internal temperature of 135°F | 57°C.
To serve the salmon, place the fillets on the plates beside the
tomato salad and finish the dish with a dollop of the remaining
tartar sauce.
Lingcod
in Foil with Fennel and Apple Salsa
Makes
4–6 servings
The
lingcod is a long, greenish blue bottom fish with a big, ugly face
and a giant mouth that can take an octopus in one bite. It also has
incredibly succulent, delicate, bluish white flesh that’s so tender
it falls apart if you try to grill it, but is just great cooked in
foil.
1
fennel bulb, stalk and fronds attached
1 navel
orange
3 Tbsp
| 45 mL orange-infused extra virgin olive oil (or regular if you
can’t find the orange-infused kind)
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL white balsamic vinegar
½ tsp |
2 mL Dijon mustard
kosher
salt and freshly ground pepper
2
Granny Smith apples
1
medium yellow onion
2 oz |
60 g butter
granulated
garlic
1 ½ lb
| 750 g boneless ling cod fillet (halibut would also
work)
1 tsp
finely grated orange zest
1 oz |
30 mL Pernod liqueur
extra
virgin olive oil for drizzling
Trim the fronds from the fennel, discarding the woody stems.
Finely chop the fennel fronds and set them aside.
Halve the orange and set one half aside. Combine the 3 Tbsp | 45 mL
of olive oil, vinegar, and mustard in a bowl along with the juice
of half the orange and 1 tsp | 5 mL of the chopped fennel fronds.
Whisk the ingredients together and add salt and pepper to taste.
Set the vinaigrette aside.
Cut the fennel bulb in half, from top to bottom. Cut one half of
the fennel bulb into very thin slices using a mandoline or a very
sharp chef’s knife. Set the sliced fennel aside.
Chop the other half of the fennel bulb into a ¼ inch | 6 mm dice
and place it in the mixing bowl containing the
vinaigrette.
Peel and core the apples and chop them into a ¼ inch | 6 mm dice.
Transfer them to the bowl with the vinaigrette and diced fennel and
toss them together. Set the salsa aside.
Trim and peel the onion and then cut it into the same kind of thin
slices as the fennel using the mandoline. Set the sliced onion
aside.
Fold a 4 foot | 120 cm strip of wide, heavy-duty aluminium foil in
half and lay it down on your counter. Coat the foil with a thin
layer of the butter, leaving a 4 inch | 10 cm margin around the
rectangle of foil. Lay down the sliced onion on the foil and
sprinkle the onion slices with a little salt. Season both sides of
the lingcod fillet with a very light sprinkle of salt, pepper, and
granulated garlic. Lay it on top of the onions, and then lay the
shaved fennel slices on top of the fish. Drizzle the fish with the
Pernod and some olive oil. Sprinkle a teaspoon of the chopped
fennel fronds and a pinch of salt over the shaved fennel. Tightly
seal the foil around the ingredients.
Note:
Because fennel bulbs and onions come in different sizes, it’s hard
to estimate exactly how much of these ingredients you’ll have when
you come to assembling the foil packet. Use your best judgement—if
it looks like you have too much fennel or onion for everything to
fit comfortably, feel free to change the amounts to suit the
situation.
Prepare the grill for medium direct heat. Place the foil packet,
onion layer facing down, on the grill and cook for 12–15 minutes,
or until the onions are soft and the fish is cooked through.
Transfer the packet to a heatproof serving platter and let it rest
for about 5 minutes. To serve, open up the packet at the table and
divide its contents between you and your guests with a large
serving spoon, making sure everyone gets some of the liquid. Top
each serving with a dollop of the salsa and a wedge of the
remaining half of the orange.