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Photo: Andre Baranowski

Slow Cooked Salmon with Leeks in Cream and Red Wine & Pomegranate Butter

I adapted this dish from Gordon Hamersley, the chef and owner at Hamersley Bistro in Boston, who created this to feature wild Alaskan King Salmon. King has the highest fat content of wild Salmon we can source in the US and thus is especially well suited to this method of roasting. The succulent result is an instant “melt in your mouth” moment that causes immediate silence at the dining table.

Salmon available in the US include the Alaskan King, the Coho or Silver, Humpback or Pink, Atlantic or Leaper, Sockeye or Red, and the Chum or Keta. As in all cooking the absolute freshness and quality of your fish selection either makes or breaks this dish. Wild Salmon in my opinion has a better taste.

Recognize that Salmon is an animal protein source and as such should be restricted to 10% of your caloric intake. In January 2004, the journal Science warned that farmed salmon contain 10 times more toxins (PCBs, dioxin) than wild salmon. The study recommends that farmed salmon should be eaten only once a month, or perhaps only every two months, as it can pose cancer risks to the human beings.

Ingredients:
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
6 whole peppercorns
2 shallots
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (6 softened, 2 diced)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon thinly sliced
3 medium leeks, washed and julienned
½ tablespoon fresh marjoram, finely chopped
½ tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds
1/3 cup vermouth
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 6-ounce skinless boneless Alaskan King filets
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Preparation:
Combine the red wine, pomegranate molasses, chopped shallots, cloves, allspice and peppercorns in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil until reduced to roughly two tablespoons; about 15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, discard solids. When the sauce is cool add the softened butter and chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. At this point you can refrigerate the butter as is, or put it on a sheet of plastic wrap and twist it into a thick cylinder about 1 inch by 5 inches. This is best made the day before.

Heat the remaining butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the leeks, marjoram, thyme, fennel and season with salt, stirring occasionally until the leeks are slightly wilted – about 2 minutes. Add the vermouth and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the cream and lemon juice and cook at low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens, about 20 minutes. Add water if the mixture becomes too dry. Keep warm and reserve.

Heat your oven to 275 degrees. Arrange the Salmon filets on a foil-lined baking sheet or pan. In a small bowl combine the remaining shallots, olive oil and garlic. Rub the filets with the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Roast the Salomon until done to your taste. Medium rare takes about 12 minutes. Done to an even consistency takes about 18-20 minutes. Put a tablespoon of the wine butter on top of each filet and let it melt slightly in the oven.

Presentation:
Spoon the leeks in cream onto the center of the plate and place a Salmon filet on top. Garnish with parsley. As a main course I served seared fresh pineapple slices and Brussels sprout halves (par boiled for 5 minutes and then sautéed in pineapple juice) until both were slightly caramelized.

Adapted from Saveur, July 2008