Black Pepper-Seared Salmon Filet with Egg Pasta, Sautéed
Green Asparagus and Champagne-Lemon Crème
Comprised of familiar flavors, this dish is great for nearly
any occasion, from a simply elegant dinner party to a casual night in.
Champagne-Lemon Crème, with or without the addition of sautéed vegetables, can
be served with pasta as an entrée on its own.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
Black Pepper-Seared Salmon Filet:
4 each 6-ounce salmon filets
sea salt
4 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Sautéed Green Asparagus:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced shallots
16 spears green asparagus, boiled
1 teaspoon lemon juice
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Champagne-Lemon Crème:
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice of 1 lemon
4 whole white peppercorns
1 Turkish bay leaf
2 cups Champagne
1 cup heavy cream
sea salt
freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Dish:
1 recipe Egg Pasta (recipe below), cooked al dente
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
sea salt
freshly ground white pepper
Preparation:
Black Pepper-Seared Salmon Filet:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the filet with salt.
Place the pepper in a shallow dish and place the first filet
skin-side-down into the pepper and press to coat. Repeat the process with
the remaining 3 filets.
Heat the oil and butter in a medium ovenproof sauté pan over high heat.
Place the filets in the pan, pepper-side-down, and sauté for 1 minute.
Turn over and sauté for 1 additional minute. Place in the oven and bake
until medium, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Sautéed Green Asparagus:
Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over high heat.
Add the shallots and sauté until glossy, about 30 seconds. Add the boiled
asparagus and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle with the lemon juice and
season to taste with salt and pepper.
Champagne-Lemon Crème:
Place the zest, juice, peppercorns, bay leaf, and
Champagne in a medium saucepan and reduce to a glaze over high heat, about
5 to 10 minutes. Add the cream and reduce by 1/2, about 5 minutes. Turn off
heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk in the butter. Pass
through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids, before serving.
Presentation:
Sauté the pasta in the butter until warmed. Season to
taste with salt and pepper. Place the pasta in the center of each serving
plate. Place the salmon, peppercorn side up, atop the pasta and drizzle the
Champagne-Lemon Crème around the plate's perimeter. Place the asparagus
spears around the plate's perimeter.
Wine Pairings:
1999 Domaine Joseph Drouhin
Chambolle - Musigny Les Amoureuses
Burgundy, France
2001 Louis Latour
Puligny - Montrachet "Les Folatières"
Burgundy, France
Egg Pasta Dough
Makes about 14 ounces dough
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon whole milk
Preparation:
Mound the flour on a wooden board or clean countertop.
Create a well in the center of the flour that is large enough to completely
contain the egg yolks and eggs.
Pour the yolks, egg, oil, and milk into the well; gently whisk together in a
circular motion with your fingers, keeping the ingredients contained within
the well. Continuing to work in a circular motion, slowly and gently begin
incorporating the flour into the whisked egg mixture. Only pull a little
flour into the well each time you make a circular pass, as adding too much
flour too quickly will result in a clumpy, uneven dough. Retain the well
shape by pulling the flour in toward the well with a pastry scraper as
necessary.
When the mixture becomes too thick to work with your fingers, begin
incorporating the remaining flour by using a pastry scraper to lift the
flour up onto the formed dough. When all the flour has been incorporated,
the dough will look jagged. Using your palms, form it into a ball. The dough
will not be smooth or elastic at this point.
Using the palms and heels of your hands, knead the dough ball by starting at
one end of the ball and pushing it forward until you reach the other end.
Once the ball has been flattened, re-form the dough into a ball and repeat
the process several times. When the dough feels smoother and moist, set it
aside and allow it to rest for a few minutes.
While the dough rests, use your pastry scraper to scrape your work surface
clean. At the culinary school, I often see students add the dried bits of
dough to their resting dough. Don't do this, as it will create crunchy
chunks in your finished dough; discard the leftovers. Lightly dust the
cleaned work surface with a bit of flour.
Place the dough onto the lightly floured surface and continue to knead,
pressing the dough in a forward motion with the heels of your hands. Reform
the ball and repeat the process when the dough becomes flattened. Continue
until the dough becomes completely smooth and when you try pulling it apart,
it is elastic and slowly snaps back into place. This will take about 15
minutes. Cover the dough with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap and allow to
rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or
pass it through a pasta machine.
© 2004 Marcel Biró and Shannon Kring Biró. Used with
permission of Biró OmniMedia, LLC, and The Kitchens of Biró TV series.
All rights reserved.
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