Poached Salmon Summer Salad

Salmon is one of those species of fish which is extremely high in the Omega-3 fatty acids which experts believe are so good for the health of our hearts. Given that it is also an extremely tasty fish, salmon affords us benefits all round. It is imperative, however, that we cook salmon in an appropriate fashion and this foolproof poaching method is one way to ensure that the salmon is presented and eaten at its delicious very best.

This is a fillet from the tail end of the salmon. It is important to poach it with the skin still on, in order that the flesh does not begin to come apart. If the salmon has been bought pre-filleted, your fishmonger may have removed all the pin bones but it is worth checking by running your fingers over the flesh and removing any which remain with a pair of tweezers.

The first step is to season the salmon. It should be sprinkled with some dill and sea salt, as well as some white pepper, if desired. It should then be placed in to a large pot, with a small piece of fresh or frozen lemon.

Cold water should be added to completely cover the salmon before the pot is put on to a high heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, the heat should be turned off, the lid placed on the pot and the salmon left to cook in the slowly cooling water for a couple of hours.

When the water is completely cool, the salmon fillet shoud very carefully be removed from the water with a spatula or fish slice and placed on to a plate. The salmon is ready to eat and can actually be served whole in this fashion but I have elected on this occasion to serve it in a slightly different fashion, as can be seen below.

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It is important when contemplating the ingredients for the salad to not select items which will overpower the delicate taste of the salmon. This salad consists very simply of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and onion.

Salad Ingredients per Person

Four lettuce leaves

2 tomatoes

4 slices of cucumber

1/2 small onion

1 hard boiled egg

Salad Preparation

The egg should be placed in a pot with enough cold water to cover it. The water should be heated until it bils and then the egg should be simmered for six or seven minutes. The pot should then be transferred to the sink and cold water run in to it. The egg should be removed, gently cracked on a hard surface and peeled. It should be halved down through the centre.

The lettuce leaves should be roughly shredded and the onion half thinly sliced. The two items should be roughly mixed together, seasoned with salt and pepper and arranged on the plate to form a bed for the salmon.

The cucmber should carefully be de-seeded by running a sharp paring knife around the core and placed on the plate as shown. This will allow them to support the halved tomatoes.

The tomatoes may simply be halved as normal but cutting them in the way I have done here makes for excellent presentation. This is achieved by making half-inch cuts (right in to the core) at alternate forty-five degree angles around their entire circumference. The two halves should then easily twist apart and can be sat on their cucumber bases.

The egg halves should also be added to the plate.

The easiest way to remove the salmon from the skin is by gently levering small pieces apart from the main fillet, which should slide easily free from the moist skin. Each piece should be bite-sized and arranged atop the lettuce and onion as shown below. This poached salmon summer salad is thereafter ready to be served.