CLASSIC SALMON TARTARE
Served for brunch or as a light lunch, this small dish will make your guests feel special with its restaurant presentation.
This recipe technique appears in our first cook book, ‘French Cooking Academy: 100 Essential Recipes for the Home Cook’.
Walk in the footsteps of the many chefs who learned how to prepare salmon tartare in French culinary school. Beautifully plated in a food ring, minced raw salmon filet is combined with an olive oil–based mayonnaise, chopped fresh herbs, capers and a touch of Tabasco for some punch. Served for brunch or as a light lunch, this small dish will make your guests feel special with its restaurant presentation. For this recipe, use the freshest wild or farmed salmon you can find and buy and consume it on the same day.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
1 lb (500 g) sashimi-grade salmon filets
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to season
⅓ cup (80 ml) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp (40 g) finely chopped shallot
2 tbsp (20 g) finely chopped capers
2 tbsp (10 g) finely chopped fresh chives
2 tbsp (10 g) finely chopped fresh parsley
A few drops of Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Tabasco
MISE EN PLACE
You will need a food ring to plate the tartare (I used one with a 3-inch (8-cm) diameter).
Clean the salmon filet, also removing any skin. If necessary, trim any dark pieces of flesh so you’re let with the most pristine part of the filets.
METHOD
To make the flavored mayonnaise, in a medium-sized bowl, vigorously whisk the egg yolk, mustard, and two pinches each of salt and pepper for about 30 seconds to kick-start the emulsion. Follow by adding the olive oil a little at a time, whisking constantly, until you get a thick mayonnaise.
Now, add the lemon juice and mix in the shallot, chives and parsley. Flavor with the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, and add extra salt and pepper, if needed. Chill the flavored mayonnaise for 15 minutes.
Take the salmon out of the freezer and, on a clean, synthetic chopping board, use a large sharp knife to cut the filets into about ½-inch (1-cm) thick slices followed by cutting those slices again into ½-inch (1-cm) thick strips. Now, chop the strips into very small cubes (avoid big pieces; otherwise, the tartare will fall apart when plated).
Next, remove the flavored mayonnaise from the fridge and gently stir the minced salmon into it. Let rest in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavors to diffuse through the salmon.
To serve, position the food ring in the middle of a plate and spoon in about ½ cup (125 g) of salmon tartare. Flatten the top with a spoon, then slowly remove the food ring to reveal a beautiful tower of tartare. Decorate the top with slices of cucumber and a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs. Finish with a drizzle of herb vinaigrette or olive oil.