"This recipe provides an unusual way to present salmon with unique combinations of flavors. Although there are many steps to this dish much of the work can be done ahead of time making for an elegant entree quickly assembled."

Ingredients for Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 six ounce portions of salmon
  (portions are best cut straight across a large boneless, skinless filet)
• 2 ounces mustard seed
• 2 ounces salad oil
• pinch of kosher salt
• long sandwich toothpicks

Technique

Lay the approximately 4 inch by 1 1/2 inch salmon rectangles skin side down on a cutting board. Butterfly the filets parallel to the cutting board. This will require a very sharp knife. The resulting cut should give you a 6 to 8 inch long strip of salmon.

Roll the strip of salmon from the thickest end to the thinnest creating a pinwheel of salmon. Tooth pick the fish so that the pinwheel does not unravel.

Season with salt and press pinwheel bottom and sides into the mustard seeds. To cook, preheat oven to 375° F, pour oil into a large baking dish and place salmon mustard seed side down. Bake approximately 7 minutes on each side. This step may be completed while warming the celery root cakes.

Watercress Beurre Blanc

Ingredients

• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 1/2 pound butter, chilled and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped watercress leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• salt

Technique

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, reduce wine, vinegar and shallots When the liquid is almost gone add the butter, stirring constantly. Add the watercress and dijon. Reserve to a warm place. Do not let the sauce chill.

Celery Root Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 large celery root, peeled and julienned into fine match sticks
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salad oil for sauteing

Technique

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large ceramic or stainless steel bowl. Cooking should commence quickly as the potatoes will begin to oxidize and loose color.

Heat oil in a non-stick egg pan. Place about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the celery root mix into the pan and turn only when the bottom is starting to brown.

The cakes should be a little larger than the salmon rolls and about an eighth to a quarter inch thick. Brown other side and remove to a baking sheet. Repeat until the celery root mix is finished. Bake the lightly-browned celery root cakes in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Steamed Arugula

Ingredients

• 4 cups cleaned baby arugula
• 1 tablespoon butter
• pinch salt

Technique

In a large saute pan heat 1 ounce of water with the butter, add the arugula and cover pan for 10 seconds. The arugula will wilt considerably. Season with salt and remove from heat. Keep warm.

Assembly

Place the celery root pancake on the plate, top with one quarter of the steamed arugula. Try not to include too much water. Top the arugula with the salmon. Drizzle the sauce around the pancake. Garnish with a sprig of watercress stuck into the salmon.

"This recipe may seem fairly complicated, however most of the steps may be completed a day in advance, except for the actual cooking of the salmon. Any remaining parsley oil, balsamic reduction or potato salad may be used for other purposes." 4 servings

Parsley Oil

Ingredients

• 2 bunches flat leaf parsley
• 1 cup salad oil
• 1 pinch kosher salt

Technique

Blanch the parsley in boiling water for 1 minute and dip into ice water.

Squeeze out as much of the water as possible, chop off the stems and place the leaves in a blender with the oil and salt. Puree for 2 minutes, strain through cheese cloth and reserve.

Balsamic Reduction

Place 1 cup of inexpensive balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan. Reduce over low heat until 1/8 cup remains. It should have the consistency of maple syrup.

Potato and Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 pound ripe roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup French red wine vinegar (or a reasonable fact simile)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• kosher salt

Technique

Cook the potatoes until tender and easily pierced with a toothpick. Chill in ice water and dice into small cubes.

Cut the stem spot off of the roma tomatoes. Cut a small X into the other end of the tomatoes. Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, a few at a time. Drop into ice water immediately. Peel, stem, and remove seeds.

Dice into small cubes and toss with the potatoes, vinegar, oil, parsley, and salt to taste.

Heat the tomatoes and potatoes over medium heat in a large saute pan until the liquids formed from the vinegar and tomato juices start to evaporate. Turn off heat and leave in pan.

Salmon Filet and Crust

Ingredients

• 4 six ounce salmon filets cut as squarely as possible
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs (Japanese cracker crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon water
• kosher salt
• 1 ounce safflower oil

Technique

Preheat oven to 400°F. Dilute the mustard with water and brush the top side of the salmon filets with the mustard. Sprinkle with a small amount of kosher salt and the chopped parsley. Press the mustard coated side into the panko bread crumbs and turn over and press the uncoated side into the crumbs.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan with an oven proof handle (a well cured cast iron skillet will do). Making sure the oil is not too hot to burn the crust, place the salmon, mustard coated side down, in the pan. Brown lightly for 1 minute and turn salmon filets over. Place pan into the oven for 5 minutes. remove and let the salmon remain in the pan to keep warm.

Assembly

Place a cup of the warm potato-tomato salad on each of the four plates.

Place a salmon portion on top of the salad. Drizzle some of the parsley oil around each salmon and then spoon a little balsamic syrup over the parsley oil. Sprinkle the rim of the plate with chopped parsley.

Fumet

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds halibut or other white fish bones( sole, cod, etc.)
• 1 small white onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced rough
• 2 stalks of celery chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 quarts cold water

1 1/2 cups orange juice 1 pinch saffron threads 1 teaspoons orange zest 1 pinch of kosher salt

Technique

Place all of the ingredients on list #1 in an appropriate stock pot (always use a larger pot or saute pan to avoid boiling over or crowding) and simmer over low heat for one hour. Skim during the process to remove scum (nice word). Strain through a fine mesh strainer layered with moistened cheese cloth or a clean moistened white napkin.

Yield about 5 to 6 cups. Extra fumet may be frozen and used later for soups, chowders or poaching fish

In a sauce pan add 3 cups of the fumet, orange juice, saffron, zest and salt.

Reduce over low heat by 1/2. Use caution when adding the saffron; too much can leave a slightly bitter taste, use just enough to add aroma and color. Keep warm.

Remaining Ingredients and Assembly

• 4 pieces of halibut filet 6 ounces each
• 24 orange sections
• 4 portions of mashed potatoes (your favorite recipe, but fairly stiff)
• 4 ounces pea sprouts
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or chives

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Saute, bake or grill the halibut and keep warm. At Le Marquis, we pan sear the filets in iron pans with a small amount of butter which imparts a browned skin and slightly nutty flavor. Then we finish cooking them in a 400°F oven. Total cooing time,about 5 minutes.

Saute the pea sprouts (pea shoots) for about 30 seconds with a small amount of butter or salad oil, season lightly with salt.

Assembly

Place mashed potatoes in the center of large soup bowls or high rimed plates. Top potatoes with the fish, top fish with pea sprouts, spoon fumet around potatoes, garnish each plate with five orange sections, sprinkle fumet with chives or parsley.

"All of the steps for this elegant appetizer may be completed the day before service." 4 servings

Crusted Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of mild goat cheese
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs mixed with;
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 cups of panko bread crumbs blended with:
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped mixed; fresh parsley, rosemary and thyme

Technique

Divide the goat cheese into 4 equal 2 ounce portions. Roll each into a ball and then shape into a small pear using thumb and fore-finger. Make sure to have a flat bottom so they will stand up later. Have a pan (a pie pan will do) or small bowl for each: the flour, the egg-water mixture and the bread crumb-herb mixture.

Gently roll each of the pieces of cheese in flour first, then eggs, then bread crumbs and then egg and then bread crumbs again. Refrigerate uncovered with out letting the portions touch each other. This may be done a day in advance.

To cook preheat the oven to 400°F and place cheese on a cookie sheet.

Spray the cheese with vegetable spray (not olive oil as this imparts a strong flavor) or brush gently with salad oil and bake for 5 to 8 minutes until brown and crispy on the outside.

Technique

Slow roasting the beets brings out the natural sugars and beet flavor.

There is no replacement for this step, however, the only drawback is that it is time consuming.

Wash the beets and rub with oil. Place in a roasting pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350°F for 3 hours. Test the tenderness of the beets by carefully peeling back the foil (watch for a steam burn at this point) and piercing one or two with a toothpick or small paring knife. They should be tender.

Cool for a few hours and peel wearing rubber gloves if you don't want your hands to turn red. Keep the red beets away from the peeled yellow beets as they will impart their red color on any thing they touch. Slice the beets into 1/8 inch thick circles and refrigerate covered with plastic wrap.

This step may be done one to two days in advance.

2 large red beets 2 large gold beets 1 tablespoon salad oil

Raspberry Shallot Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
• 1 peeled shallot
• 1 tablespoon hazelnut oil or walnut oil
• 1/4 cup safflower oil or light salad oil
• pinch of salt

Technique

In a blender combine the vinegar and shallot. Puree, adding the oils slowly. Add the pinch of kosher salt.

Assembly

In separate bowls toss the red beet slices and yellow beet slices with a small amount of the vinaigrette.

On each plate make a beet circle with the beet slices alternating red, yellow red, and so on. There should be 6 or 8 beet disks on each plate.There should be a space remaining in the middle of the beets for the baked goat cheese. Place the warm cheese in the center of the plate and poke a hole in the top of the cheese with a tooth pick and garnish with a small rosemary sprig.

Sprinkle cracked black pepper around the rim of the plate.