Pan Seared Salmon with Cucumber Buerre Blanc and Roasted Asparagus

Interesting birth of this dish.  I had just spent the day with my niece and I was on my way back home to think of something to cook.  I had considered just getting sushi to go, since I was told to go ahead and have something my wife wouldn't want since she was out with her friend.  Then I though about cooking up something fancy.  When I'm on a fancy quest of culinary, I often call Thomas.  Thomas is the Executive Dinner Service Chef of a local restaurant and a solid bro.  We've done some BBQ together and one of the recipes on here before.  I had his stuffed grouper recently at the restaurant The Mad Hatter Tea Shop in St. Marys, GA.  It had this delightful sauce called a ber blanc on it.  Which is litterally in French (butter white).  So I called Thomas and asked him how to create a ber blanc in a nutshell.  Then I noticed he was unloading supplies at the restaurant.  So I said, "I'll just come to you and help you unload."  So we discussed food and what I should make.  This then led to us cooking this delighful dish together.  Enjoy friends.

Pan Seared Salmon with Cucumber Buerre Blanc and Roasted Asparagus

You will need:

-         One large filet of salmon.

-         2 cloves of garlic finely chopped.

-         ½ red onion chopped.

-         1 ½ stick of butter.

-         1 pack of Arborio rice.

-         1 large can of chicken stock.

-         1 cup of heavy cream.

-   About 1 cup of white wine, we used pinot grigio.

-         About 4 tablespoons of olive oil.

-         Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

-         About ½ cup of malt vinegar.

-         1 cucumber chopped.

-         ¼ cup fresh grated parmesan.

-         1 fresh bunch of asparagus (trim the edges).

Begin with the prep work of chopping your ingredients: Red onion, garlic, cucumber, and chop about a stick of butter into cubes for quick melting, and trim the asparagus.  At this time you may also want to season your salmon.  We seasoned it by a simple rub of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Make sure you season both sides of the filet.

Buerre Blanc:

We recommend starting the ber blanc first.  In a small saucepan begin sweating ½ of your pre chopped onions with the malt vinegar.  Sweat this down until it is almost dry.  Now add the white wine, cream, and cucumbers.  With a stick blender, blend down the onions and cucumbers in the sauce.  Now reduce this by half.  Right before it comes time to plate the dish add the butter about 2 cubes at a time and whisk well.  Continue until it is nice and thick, but not too thick.  Season even further with salt, pepper and garlic powder if you like.   

Risotto:

In another small sauce pan pour in your chicken stock and turn that burner on medium low.

In another pan, a deep frying pan is what I use, begin sweating your garlic with ½ a stick of butter and the rest of the red onion you have chopped.  Do this until your garlic is brown and the onions have caramelized.  Now add with a ladle, one ladle full of chicken stock to your deep frying pan with the garlic, onions and butter.  Immediately add the Arborio rice to the pan.  Continue adding ladles of chicken stock, one ladle full at a time constantly stirring the rice until it has reach a consistency where it doesn't dissolve in your mouth but has a slight chew to it. 

If you don’t time it perfectly for the risotto to be done at the same time as everything else, that is ok.  Just remove from heat and cover.  Once it comes time for plating just add a few tablespoons of butter to the risotto and stir it up.  This should break it apart and make it more presentable.

Asparagus:

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a baking dish season the asparagus with a light dressing of olive oil topped with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Then lightly coat them with the Parmesan.  Bake for about 10 minutes.

Salmon:(Make sure you season both sides of the filet)

In another frying pan, get it on medium hot with the olive oil.  Place your salmon fillets down on the hot pan.  Cook until the color of the fish changes about ¾ the way up the filet.  Flip and cook for about another minute to minute and half. 

To plate the dish:

We started with a generous portion of risotto.  Topped with the salmon filet and buerre blanc sauce, then asparagus at a very appealing angle.

We really enjoyed this one.  Hope you all do too.