Confit of Salmon on New Potatoes and Silverbeet with a Saffron Cream Sauce

Salmon Confit

This really isn't a confit in the traditional sense as a preserved meat. In this recipe the salmon is cooked in duck or goose fat which is perfect for cooking the salmon as it cooks it slowly at 65°C and imparts it with a delicate flavour. If you haven't any duck or goose fat you can use olive oil infused with a garlic clove, rosemary stem and bay leaf.

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4 Portions
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Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Salmon

  • 4 Salmon fillets (175-200g each)
  • 3 mint stems
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 500-600g duck or goose fat
  • Maldon salt

Sauce

  • 300ml fish stock
  • 200ml noilly prat or dry white wine
  • 100ml double cream
  • 1 pinch saffron
  • 4 plum tomatoes or vine ripened tomatoes, concasse (deseeded and diced)
  • 2 tbsp tarragon leaves

Vegetables

  • 500g new potatoes
  • 250g silverbeet or spinach
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
  • Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. Salmon:Place the salmon in a covered container with the mint leaves and garlic and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 24 hours to infuse the flavour.
  2. Vegetables: Wash the potatoes and place in a saucepan of boiling water and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes until they are tender when a knife is inserted into them, set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.. Wash the silverbeet and cut out the tough stem, slice it width wise into even pieces (around 3 cm thick). If using spinach wash and trim the stalks. Place 1-2 tbsp of duck fat into a wok or large saucepan over a moderately high heat when it has melted add the garlic and silverbeet or spinach and cook stirring regularly until it is wilted and tender, add the nutmeg and seasoning. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
  3. Sauce: Place the stock and wine into a saucepan and bring it to the boil then reduce it to simmer and leave it to reduce by two thirds. Add the double cream and stir in the saffron return to a simmer and reduce by a third so that you have a sauce consistency. Remove the sauce from the stove and keep warm until ready to serve. You may cover with a kartouche (grease proof paper with butter) or a layer of melted butter to avoid the sauce from having a skin.
  4. Confit of Salmon:Remove the salmon from the fridge and season with a little salt. Place the duck fat in a saucepan or pan that will fit the salmon fillets so that they are not overcrowded. Melt the fat over a moderate heat on the stove until it is melted (it should reach 65°C). Remove the fat from the stove and place the salmon in it, cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes. After this time the salmon should be delicately cooked through but slightly pink in the centre.
  5. To Serve: Reheat the sauce carefully stir in the tarragon and tomato concasse. Place the spinach or silverbeet in the centre of each plate (reheat if necessary). Slice the potatoes width wise and spoon over a couple of tablespoons of the duck fat the salmon was cooked in and season. Distribute the potatoes in the silverbeet or spinach on the centre of the plates in a line so that they overlap slightly. Carefully remove the salmon draining them slightly and place them on the silverbeet or spinach. Pour the sauce around the plate and serve.