Cold Poached Salmon

Poached Salmon is an excellent dish to serve a large group of people. It takes very little time to prepare and can be cooked a day in advance. Accompany the salmon with home-made mayonnaise, aioli or creme fraiche with some lime and finely chopped dill. You will need a fish kettle to prepare this recipe. Alternatively you could poach the fish in a large oven tray bringing the water to boil on the stove and then place the salmon in the tray, cover it with foil and place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 1 hour.

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10-12 Portions

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Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1-1/2 hours

Ingredients

Salmon

3.5 kg salmon, washed and gutted (scales left on)
300ml white wine
2 garlic cloves bruised with the back of a knife
generous pinch salt
handful of lemon myrtle leaves (optional)

Garnish

1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
4 lemons thinly sliced
bunch dill

To Serve

Herb Mayonnaise (see recipe) or creme fraiche with finely chopped mixed herbs and lemon juice
sweet chilli sauce or/and chutney
salad of your choice

Method

Salmon:Pour the wine into the fish kettle and fill then fill it with water so that the liquid comes half way up. Place the garlic cloves in the liquid and put the kettle over a high heat and bring to the boil.
Place the lemon myrtle leaves in the cavity of the salmon. Place the salmon in the fish kettle and return to the boil, remove from the heat and cover with the lid (the fish should just be covered with the liquid. Leave the salmon to cook in the water until it has cooled (around 1- 1 1/2 hour).
Remove the salmon from the fish kettle, holding it over the kettle briefly allowing the water to drain, place the salmon directly on to a large platter when cooked. If preparing in advance cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator (store for up to a day).
To Serve: Carefully peel the skin off the top half of the salmon with the help of a knife. Leave the skin on the tail and head. Garnish across the centre of the salmon with cucumber slices, place the lemon slices around the salmon and garnish with sprigs of dill. Serve with your choice of sauces and a light salad.

*Leave the skin on the salmon until ready to serve, otherwise the flesh will become dry.* To Slice: Serve the flesh from the top half of the fish, then remove the centre bones and continue with the bottom half.