Recipe: Salmon with Cauliflower and a Pine Nut-Currant Crust

SALMON WITH BRAISED CAULIFLOWER, LEMON BROWN BUTTER, AND A PINE NUT-CURRANT CRUST

"This salmon dish was inspired by the flavors and textures of pasta alla palina, a traditional Sicilian pasta dish made with bread crumbs, cauliflower, pine nuts, currants, and anchovies. The thing that drew me to this recipe was the cabbage-like flavor of cauliflower, which I've always enjoyed pureed and in soups, and even steamed with cheese sauce when I was a kid. Roasting or braising cauliflower is the best way to maximize its flavor, but you can use it just about any way you'd use broccoli: steamed, blanched, or sauteed. When shopping for cauliflower, there's an easy way to test its freshness: if you rub its florets and they break easily, it's getting old and should be passed over."

FOR THE SALMON:
8 sprigs rosemary
8 sprigs thyme
8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
4 skinless salmon fillets, 6 to 7 ounces each, ideally cut from the head end
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt

FOR THE PINE NUT-CURRANT CRUST:
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 tablespoon dried currants, soaked in warm water for 1 hour and drained
1/2 anchovy fillet, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped
2 tablespoons butter, divided use
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE CAULIFLOWER:
2 tablespoons butter
1 small head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch-long florets, then halved lengthwise
1/2 cup vegetable stock

FOR THE LEMON BROWN BUTTER AND ASSEMBLY:
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup cream
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

TO PREPARE THE SALMON:
Arrange half the rosemary, thyme, and parsley sprigs on a baking sheet. Put the fish fillets, skinned side down, on top of the herbs. Scatter the remaining herb sprigs over the fish. Cover the fish with plastic wrap, molding the wrap around the fish to keep it moist, and gently press the herbs into the flesh. Place the fish in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

WHEN READY TO COOK:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Remove the fish from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature about 15 minutes.

TO PREPARE THE CRUST MIXTURE:
Spread the pine nuts out on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the pine nuts cool to room temperature.

Place the currants, pine nuts, and anchovy in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until coarsely chopped.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saute pan set over low heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and reduce until dry, 2 to 3 minutes.

Place the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan set over high heat and cook until melted and brown. Add the bread crumbs, season with salt and pepper, and saute until golden brown, working quickly so the crumbs remain crisp. Add the currant mixture and onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, toss, and set aside.

TO PREPARE THE CAULIFLOWER:
Melt the butter in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower florets, cut side down, and saute until well browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until the other side is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, cover, and let simmer over low heat until the florets are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, raise the heat to high, bring the liquid to a boil, and let boil until reduced and thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

TO COOK THE SALMON:
Remove the plastic wrap from the fish. Remove the herbs from above and below the fillets and set aside. Rub 1 teaspoon olive oil into each side of the fillets and season both sides with salt.

Spread all of the herbs on the baking sheet and place the fillets on the herb bed in a single layer. Roast until just opaque in the center, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets (pry apart the flesh on 1 fillet to check for doneness).

Brush the top of the salmon (not the skinned side) with olive oil and sprinkle with the crust.

TO PREPARE THE LEMON BROWN BUTTER:
Place the lemon juice in a deep, heatproof bowl.

Place the butter and cream in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise and the milk solids separate out and float on top. Transfer the mixture to a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process for 20 seconds to break up the solids. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, for about 3 minutes, until its color changes from reddish brown to a deep walnut brown.

Add the mixture to the lemon juice (it will foam up a bit). Swirl the sauce and lemon around, and season with salt and pepper. (You may notice little bits of milk solids in the mixture, but don't worry about them; they're sweet, nutty, and delicious.) Set aside.

TO SERVE:
Divide the cauliflower among four warm dinner plates. Top with the salmon. Drizzle with brown butter and pass any remaining brown butter on the side.

WINE:
A rich, ripe Alsatian white would stand up to the flavors in this dish. Try a pinot blanc or the Pinot Auxerrois Vieille Vignes from Albert Mann, a producer from Alsace, France.

Makes 4 servings
Adapted from source: Inspired by Ingredients by Bill Telepan and Andrew Friedman