Grilled Salmon w/Summer Veg. Salad and Citrus Vinaigrette

[ironchef]

Grilled Salmon with a Summer Vegetable Salad, and Citrus-Herb Vinaigrette

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Four 8 oz. Salmon Filets, bones removed
48 (approx.) Haricot Verts, or similar green bean, stems removed
16 Baby Carrots, peeled with greens trimmed to approx. 1/4"
16 Grape or Teardrop tomaotes, halved
16 Nicoise, Gaetta, or Kalamatta Olives, pitted and halved
1 med. Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 c. Chervil
2 c. Olive Oil
1/4 c. Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 c. Fresh Orange Juice
2 med. sized Shallots, chopped
2 Tbsp. Honey
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Ginger, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp. Fresh Dill
1 Fresh Jalapeno or Serrano Chile, seeds and veins removed
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp. Red Chili Flakes
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Method:

For the Salmon:

In a ziplock bag or shallow marinating dish, combine 1/2 cup of Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp. of parsley, and the red chili flakes. Marinate the salmon for approx. 1 hour, turning once.

For the Dressing:

In a food processor or blender, combine the vinegar, shallots, citrus juices, remaining parsley, thyme, dill, honey, soy sauce, dijon mustard, jalapeno pepper, and ginger. Blend together while slowing adding in the olive oil, until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper and reserve. This will hold for up to one week in the refrigerator if sealed tightly in a non-reactive container.

For the Salad:

Prepare a pot of boiling water (2 quarts water + 1 Tbsp. salt) with a bowl of iced water on the side (bowl must be large enough to hold the haricot verts and carrots). Blanch the haricot verts for approx. 35-40 seconds in the water, and immediately transfer to the iced water to chill. Blanch the carrots for approx. 1 1/2 minutes and immediately transfer to the iced water to chill. Drain and dry the haricot verts and carrots, and combine in a mixing bowl with the red onion, tomato, olives, and chervil. Reserve in refrigerator.

To Assemble:

Prepare grill to medium high. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, and cook the salmon until medium doneness, about 4 minutes per side. Toss the salad mixture with about 1/2-3/4 cups of the dressing, or until all of the components are evenly coated and flavored. Evenly distribute the salad on four plates, and place one salmon filet on top of the salad. Lightly drizzle the some of the vinaigrette over the salmon and serve.

[kitchenelf]

Thanks ironchef!

[Robt]

Well ironchef,

You have made me happy. My family is very pleased. My belly is full.

I made your salmon tonight and that is one darn fine recipe!

I didn't decide to make it until about 3:30 so I rushed to the store and gathered what I didn't have--Like 3# of King. [Still mostly Alaskan but down to $9/# and really fresh] I couldn't find chervil in the time I had so I substituded watercress -does ath anise flavor of chervil make much difference? The only red wine vinegar in the house was growing mother like there was no tommorrow so I subed cava vinegar.

The only negative comment was my daughter who thought the dressing "could have more bite". The Cava vinegar was too mild- low acidityand sweet.

One other thing, my copy of your recipe now says to prep all the stuff and stage it in the order to be used. I didn't and had to go back to the dressing twice because I had forgotten parts.

Thanks again for the fine feed.

Robert Collins
Seattle

[ironchef]

Robert, glad you liked it. That was a dish I actually made up in Culinary school when I was "challenged" by one of my instructors to make a dish with whatever leftover stuff we had. It was the last week of class so we were running down a lot of our supplies on purpose, or else they would spoil since the kitchen would be unoccupied until the next class came in.

The red wine vinegar would have definitely given it more "bite". If you wanted a more citrus-type bite, you could've added more lime or lemon juice. Under the "method" section, I wrote in what to me was the best chronological order in the way to make it. Of course my way isn't always the best or most efficient for everyone, so to each their own. However, everyone should definitely marinate the salmon first though, and then use that hour to get everything else in the dish ready.

[Robt]

PS

Just had some of the left over sauce on my omlet. It no longer needs more acid. Its great. Time is really on its side. Any Ideas for a name for this sauce?

[wiseguy21690]

Seems like an east meets west sauce.

[ironchef]

I just call it a "citrus-herb vinaigrette", but you can call it whatever you want to. It's basically a fusion type vinaigrette, but the Asian flavors enhance, rather than dominate the dressing.