Salmon with Pea-Wasabi Purée and Yuzu

Well this was very good, but as it required some online shopping for special ingredients and me begging sushi restaurants for the salmon roe I couldn't find in the grocery store, I'm betting most of you aren't going to want to try it because of that.  The smoked salmon and roe do make it a very fishy dish too, however, it was really great if you like that kind of thing. It is an Eric Ripert dish, and it looks more like artwork than food!  I used lime zest since I couldn't find fresh Yuzu, but I ordered the juice. I also couldn't find fresh chervil, so I used 3 parts parsley and 1 part tarragon.  We were split on whether this was a 4.5 or a 5. I decided that because of the issue acquiring ingredients, I'm going with the lower score.


Salmon with Pea-Wasabi Puree and Yuzu

 

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon wasabi paste

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground white pepper

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1 tablespoon yuzu juice (see Note)

1 teaspoon finely grated yuzu zest or lime zest

Pinch of piment d’Espelette

Eight 3-ounce skinless wild Alaskan salmon fillets

4 ounces salmon roe (6 tablespoons)

2 ounces smoked salmon, diced (2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons finely diced celery

2 teaspoons finely chopped chervil 

 

 

In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the peas until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and transfer to a blender. Add the wasabi paste and 6 tablespoons of water and puree until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Strain the wasabi pea puree through a fine sieve; discard the solids. Transfer the wasabi pea puree to a small bowl, cover and keep warm.

In the same saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil. Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Whisk in the yuzu juice, yuzu zest and piment d’Espelette. Season with salt and white pepper and keep warm.

Line a baking sheet with paper towels. In a large skillet, bring 1 cup of lightly salted water to a boil. Season the salmon with salt and white pepper. Place the salmon fillets in the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook at a gentle simmer just until the fish is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Drain the fish on the prepared baking sheet.

Spoon the wasabi pea puree onto plates and top with the salmon fillets. Drizzle the yuzu emulsion over the salmon and garnish with the salmon roe, smoked salmon, celery and chervil. Serve immediately.

Notes If fresh yuzu isn’t available, look for bottled yuzu juice at Japanese markets.