Recipe: Onion Crusted Salmon and Salmon with Onion Crust, Onion Sauce and Golden Caviar (not Leberocks)

ONION CRUSTED SALMON

2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons dry ranch seasoning
4 salmon fillets (4 to 8 oz each)
2 quarts French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together by hand in a bowl, sour cream, mayonnaise, and ranch seasoning. Rub salmon with sour cream mix, top and bottom. Be generous. Add onions on the top and the bottom until completely covered.

Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes until flaky.

Source: Sharon Smith, Sous Chef
The Magnolia Tea Room Caf at Eight Gables Inn, Gatlinburg

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SALMON WITH CRUNCHY ONION CRUST,
ONION SAUCE AND GOLDEN CAVIAR

FOR THE SAUCE:
5 cups thinly sliced large white onions, divided use
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
FOR THE FRIED ONIONS:
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups peanut oil
FOR THE SALMON:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Four 6-ounce salmon fillets with the skin intact
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1 ounce golden caviar (to serve)

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:
In a skillet cook 3 cups of the onions in 1/2 cup water over moderate heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are very soft.

Add the vinegar and cook the mixture for 2 minutes, or until the liquid is evaporated. Add the broth and simmer the mixture, stirring for 30 minutes.

Strain the liquid through a sieve into a saucepan.

In a food processor pur e the onions with 1/4 cup of the liquid liquid; set aside.

In a saucepan boil the remaining reserved liquid until it is reduced to about 1 cup.

Stir the onion pur e into the reduced liquid, stir in the cream, and keep the sauce warm, covered, over very low heat.

TO MAKE THE FRIED ONIONS:
Toss the remaining 2 cups onions with the flour and shake off the excess, reserving it.

In a deep fryer heat the peanut oil to 375 degrees F, and in it fry the onions, a few at a time, for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer the onions with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and chop them into 1/4-inch pieces.

TO PREPARE THE SALMON:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In an ovenproof skillet heat the olive oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it cook the salmon, skin side up and seasoned with salt and pepper, for 1 1/2 minutes. Turn the fillets carefully with a spatula and cook them for 2 minutes more.

Dip the tops of the fillets carefully into the reserved flour, coat them with the egg, and top them with the fried onions. Return the fillets to the skillet, spoon any remaining fried onions on top of the fillets.

Loosely cover the skillet with foil. Bake the fillets, in the middle of a preheated 350-degree F. oven for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they re just cooked through.

TO SERVE:
Divide the sauce among 4 heated plates, transfer the salmon with a spatula to the plates, and spoon the caviar decoratively onto it.

Servings: 4
Adapted from source: Michel Richard, Citrus - Los Angeles
Gourmet December 1990