December 16, 2009 Dear Friends, This is a favorite recipe I keep coming back to again and again. What I like about it is how fast it is for a work night, and yet how elegant it is for an impromptu gathering. Multiply it at will, just make sure that you give the potatoes and salmon plenty of room to roast. Lemon-Garlic Roast Salmon on New Potatoes Serves 4 generously and multiplies easily Marinade: - ½ cup good tasting extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 large cloves garlic
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
The Fish: - 4 1-inch thick salmon steaks (wild if possible), or Pacific cod or halibut
- 2 to 3 medium sized, unpeeled red skin potatoes, boiled to barely tender
- 2 generous teaspoons pickled capers, rinsed
- Leaves from 2 to 3 branches parsley
1. About a half hour before cooking, heat oven to 400°F, and in a food processor puree together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the salmon steaks and refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes. 2. Have a shallow baking dish that can hold the salmon steaks with some room to spare. Peel and thin slice the potatoes, then overlap slices to cover the bottom of the dish. 3. Moisten the potatoes with a little of the marinade and sprinkle with half the capers. Top with the steaks and the rest of the marinade and capers. Bake the steaks 8 to 10 minutes, or until the center of a steak is no longer raw looking (make a small cut to see). If the fish is cold when it goes into the oven, it could take longer to cook. Serve hot sprinkled with the leaves of parsley. Variations: Chutney Roast Fish: Make the marinade, but cut down the oil to ¼ cup and add ¼ to ⅓ cup fruit chutney after everything is pureed. Finish the recipe as directed, but do not use the capers. Coconut-Chile Pan-Roasted Fish: Instead of olive oil, lemon and garlic, marinate and roast the fish in a blend of ½ cup coconut milk, ½ teaspoon fish sauce, a generous tablespoon each minced ginger and garlic, and fresh hot chile to taste. Top the finished dish with fresh lime juice and chopped fresh Thai or sweet basil, or fresh coriander. LYNNE'S TIPS Just about any fish will work in this recipe. The trick is to be sure the potatoes are cooked through before spreading them in the pan. This way, if your fish is thin cut, and therefore fast cooking, the potatoes will be done when it is. Fish sometimes needs some fiddling and attention while cooking, but once you have the knack you are guaranteed success. The general rule is to cook fish for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, unless the fish is cold when it goes into the oven; then it could take a bit longer. In any case, start testing after about 8 minutes because other variables, like an improperly calibrated oven or temperature, come into play. Do not cook until the fish flakes as many recipes advise. Fish that flakes is overcooked. You want just opaque flesh that is almost firm when gently pressed with your finger. When in doubt, slightly undercook, remove from the heat, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Residual heat will finish cooking the fish to perfection. THOUGHTS FROM LYNNE During the holidays we sometimes entertain with a dessert buffet. We'll invite friends for 7:30 p.m. and hand them a glass of something festive as they come in the door. The good news about entertaining this way is that it's easy and relaxed: you prepare several desserts in advance and serve them in small portions along with good coffee, a sparkling wine like Cava or Prosecco (Champagne if the budget allows) and a sparkling cider for those who avoid alcohol. You could also include a cheese tray with fresh fruit like grapes, fresh pineapple spears and Clementines or Satsumas as a counterpoint to the sweets. Here is a recipe that has appeared on our dessert buffets. It's rich so a little bit goes a long way, which is exactly what you want when you have a crowd. Salted nuts give the caramel coating a nice twist. Caramel Many Nut Tart Makes an 11-inch tart or 8 to 10 servings The pastry could be baked a day in advance, but once the caramel and nuts are combined you want to fill the pastry and bake right away. Then the pressure is off because the tart holds well for two days at room temperature. Pastry: - 2-½ cups all-purpose unbleached flour (measured by dipping cup into flour and then leveling)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 3 cold large egg yolks, plus 3 tablespoons ice water (more as needed)
Filling: - 1 stick unsalted butter
- ½ cup firm-packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup salted cashews
- ⅔ cup salted macadamia nuts
- ½ cup whole blanched almonds
- ⅓ cup shelled, salted pistachios
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1. To make the pastry, put all the dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with steel blade. Run a few seconds to blend. Add the butter and process until mixture resembles peas (10 seconds, more or less). Turn off the machine, sprinkle dough with yolk and water mixture and process with an on-off motion until dough begins to gather into clumps. It should be easily pinched together. If dry, sprinkle with 1 more tablespoon water and pulse only to blend. Gently gather into a ball, wrap, and chill 1 hour to overnight. 2. Grease an 11-inch fluted, false-bottomed tart pan. Roll out dough to a little less than ⅛-inch thickness and fit into pan. Double over dough at sides to strengthen them. Trim away excess. Chill tart shell 1 hour to overnight. 3. To bake, preheat oven to 400°F. Line tart shell with foil and weight either with dry rice or beans. Bake 10 minutes. Remove liner, prick bottom of shell with a fork, and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. 4. To finish tart, preheat oven to 350°F. Place baked tart shell on a baking sheet. Combine the second quantity of butter, brown sugar, honey, and white sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. 5. Set the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir with a whisk until it comes to a boil. Boil one minute, or until thick and large bubbles form. Stir in nuts, quickly remove from the heat and stir in cream. Immediately pour the mixture into tart shell. Spread out evenly to cover the entire surface of the pastry. 6. Bake on baking sheet for about 20 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature. Have a great week, Lynne Copyright 2009, Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
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