Ad Hoc Poached Salmon with Caramelized Cabbage

On a night that I was hoping to have an easy meal picked up from Whole Foods Market, Derek decided to make a "quick" poached salmon. Not being a fan of salmon and craving a big salad, I opted out and kept with my original plan. We were to spend the night cooking up some chili for the super bowl so I didn't want to spend any extra time in the kitchen having to cook for dinner as well! But when Derek is set on something, he's going to do it...so he insisted on making himself a quick and easy poached salmon from Ad Hoc at Home.

Disclaimer: nothing with Derek is every as quick or easy as he expects. This was no exception.

He had to make the homemade court boullion for the poaching liquid for the salmon. I said just pick up a high quality stock at Whole Foods - but he refused (after the fact he admitted that he should have taken this shortcut). He also had to make an "easy" side dish that required many steps: cooking up bacon, blanching the cabbage, cooking it in batches, making melted onions....this is where women are so much better at gauging time. If you look at all those steps, I can automatically say that this is not a meal that qualifies for 30-minute meals. But alas, I spent my evening snacking on food while I waited for Derek to finish his meal so I could eat mine because I prefer to eat dinner together than separately if we are both at home.

Here is what he had to go through - all by himself - for his "quick" meal:


Ad Hoc Poached Salmon


Court Bouillon
2.5-3 lb salmon (individual pieces OK)
Maldon salt or another flaky sea salt
small dill sprigs
EVOO

Make the court bouillon according to directions in Ad Hoc (p.341) - strain the liquid into a saucepan and reserve the solids. Heat the liquid to 200 degrees over medium-high heat.

If you do not have a fish poacher - you can use a deep roasting pan and place a rank at the bottom to make removal of the cooked fish easier. Put fish skin side down on the rack and add enough bouillon to cover the fish completely. Add extra reserved vegetables if space allows. Bring liquid to 200 degrees and adjust heat as necessary to maintain temperature of 190-200 degrees.

If serving the fish hot - remove the pan from the heat when the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees. Let salmon sit in the liquid until it reaches 125 degrees. Remove salmon and place on serving dish. Sprinkle with salt and dill and drizzle with olive oil.

Caramelized Cabbage
Ad Hoc at Home

1 head Green Cabbage
canola oil
salt
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 T. butter
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. melted onions

Cut cabbage in half through the core. Cut each half again through the core. Cut out the core and discard. Turn a piece of cabbage cut-side down and cut crosswise into three sections. Beak apart the piece of cabbage over a bowl; cut out and discard any tough ribs. Repeat with remaining cabbage.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Add cabbage to the water and boil for 1.5 to 2 minutes until the leaves are wilted but still crisp. Drain, chill in the ice bath, and drain in a strainer. Place strainer over a bowl and press down on the cabbage to drain excess moisture.

Shortly before serving, heat some canola oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3rd of the cabbage, lower the heat to medium and cook for about one minute. Separate the cabbage with a spoon so to have as much surface against the hot pan as possible. Season with a generous pinch of salt and let cook, without stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes to evaporate any remaining water to caramelize the leaves. Watch carefully - you want the leaves to brown but not burn - adjust heat as necessary. Cook stirring the cabbage constantly for another 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining batches of cabbage, adding more canola oil as needed.

Combine all of the cabbage and the stock in a large saute pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the butter and onions and cook for about 3 minutes tossing often to heat the cabbage through. The butter should be creamy but not separated - if it has separated, stir in a bit more stock.

Serve.

NOTE: Derek added cooked bacon (as recommended by the recipe) that he cooked first at a low, slow temperature to render the fat, and then set the pieces aside. He cut the bacon into pieces and added them to the cabbage just before serving.



Melted Onions

8 cups sliced onions (about 3 large onions)
kosher salt
8 Tbsp. butter
1 sachet (1 bay leaf, 3 thyme sprigs, 10 black peppercorns, 1 garlic clove)

Put onions in a large saute pan set over medium low heat and sprinkle with two generous pinches of salt and cook, stirring from time to time, for about 20 minutes, until the onions have released much of their liquid. Stir in the butter and the sachet, cover with a parchment lid and cook slowly over low to medium low heat for another 30 to 35 minutes. The onions should look creamy at all times and if the butter separates or the pan looks dry at any time, add some cold water and stir well to re-emulsify the butter. The onions should be meltingly tender but not mushy or falling apart. Season to taste with salt.

Goodness! Yes, finally we did get to eat. I tried the salmon and reassured myself that I can no longer eat cooked salmon and truly enough it. I guess it was OK but certainly not worth all of the effort for the homemade poaching liquid that left the salmon still tasting like salmon (perhaps this is a good thing for those who actually like salmon that is cooked!)

Derek said the cabbage was the best he had ever eaten in his life. I could possibly agree - but not without reservation. It was good because it was not good for you. Bacon, melted onions (melted via butter), and more butter....of course it's going to be good! Mind you he did cut down on the butter a bit but it was certainly still a rich dish of otherwise perfectly healthy vegetables in their natural state. But yes, they were good...very good...dinner party worthy good - just maybe won't become our staple method of preparation for weeknight "healthy" meals.