Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page is one of my favorite books to peruse, along with their infinitely inspiring Flavor Bible. The former is all about the element of art in cooking, and as I read the chapter on creating menus I started getting lots of ideas. There is a section full of different menus from great restaurants around the globe, and a potato-wrapped salmon dish caught my eye.
The blurb about that particular menu said that the potato was cut with a rotary mandoline, but I sadly don’t have one in my kitchen (but if you want to send me one, let me know ^_~). I do, however, have a plain old Japanese-style mandoline cutter, and used it to slice russet potatoes into thin, flat ovals to wrap the fish with. With a little research, I was even able to find a good way to secure the slices around the fish, thanks to this halibut recipe from Bon Appétit. Not only is this effective, but the layered potatoes also look a bit like scales, which is appropriate and attractive… how about that! Once it was all wrapped and pan-fried, the result was delectable. The potato created a crispy, unique crust that provided a lovely textural contrast to the rich salmon. Plus, it looks great, especially next to a colorful serving of Greek green bean salad. Mmm…
- to 1 lb boneless, skinless wild salmon, cut into 4” long fillets
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 russet potatoes (preferably the longest, flattest ones you can find), peeled
- Olive oil, for frying
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- Sour cream and chopped fresh chives, for serving
- Pat down the salmon fillets with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. In a small bowl, mix the oregano, parsley and garlic. Evenly spread the spice rub on each fillet. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper. Set aside while potatoes are prepared.
- Halve the peeled potatoes lengthwise. Using a mandoline slicer, cut the potatoes into long, paper-thin strips.
- Set out a piece of plastic wrap on the work surface, and lay out 5-6 potato slices in the center of the wrap, lined up in a row, overlapping slightly. Form another row in the same way, with the ends of this second row slightly overlapping the short ends of the first row, forming a rectangular shape. Sprinkle the potato slices with salt and pepper.
- Pat the fish fillets dry once more, and place a fillet across the overlapped potato slices. Using the plastic wrap to help you, fold the loose ends of the slices over the fish to form a little bundle. Dab the overlapped ends with a bit of olive oil and press down to make them stick. Fold the rest of the plastic wrap over to keep the bundle shut, turn the bundle over to keep it from opening, and place in the fridge to firm up. Repeat with the rest of the potato slices and salmon fillets.
- Let the bundles firm in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Once they’ve firmed (which should help the bundles stay shut), take them out of the fridge. Heat a heavy (preferably cast iron) pan over high heat. Coat the pan with 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Carefully unwrap the fish bundles from the plastic wrap and place in the pan, seam side down. Fry for about 4 minutes, flip, and fry the other side for 2-3 minutes more or until the fish is opaque in the center and the potato slices are lightly browned.
- Serve immediately with a lemon wedge, a dollop of sour cream, and a pinch of chopped chives.
