The Cookbook Store: Salmon Marinated in Mint and Basil with Summer Vegetable Gratin

Salmon Marinated in Mint and Basil with Summer Vegetable Gratin

For the Love of Soup from In the Hands of a Chef
Jody Adams & Ken Rivard
Mediterranean cooking methods meet New England ingredients in Adams' Boston restaurant, Rialto.Ubiquitous New England bluefish ,for example, is glazed with pomegranate molasses;shad roe is paired with lentils. Popular molten chocolate cake is rechristened chocolate espresso torta here.The recipes offer a good mix of simple and more complex preparation.However the type is rather small,making this book difficult for some of us to read. Colour photo insert. 374pp. $52.95.

For the most part, I try to keep things as simple as possible when combining seafood and summer vegetables. But not so the French -- and on some occasions, jumping through their hoops makes sense. This is a lovely decadent dish whose major effort goes into a rich gratin of summer vegetables with cream. The salmon is very lightly flavoured with basil and mint. After the gratin is baked, the salmon is given a quick sear and served atop the vegetables.

Makes 4 entrée servings

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
Kosher salt
1/4 pound sugar snap beans, strings removed
1/4 pound thin string beans, trimmed
1/4 pound zucchini, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/4 pound flat-leaf spinach, trimmed of thick stems, washed, dried and coarsely chopped
1 ear corn, husked
1/4 pound leeks, white part only, trimmed of roots and tough outer leaves, thinly sliced crosswise and swirled vigourously in a bowl of cold water to remove any grit
1 baking potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup heavy cream
1 lemon, halved
Freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs

Do ahead: Marinate the salmon with the herbs an hour before cooking. You can shave some preparation time from the final assembly by blanching the vegetables ahead.

1.In a shallow dish, toss the lemon zest with 2 tablespoons of the mint, 2 tablespoons of the basil, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Rub the mixture on the salmon. Marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water -- it should be large enough to hold all of the vegetables. One at a time, briefly blanch the snap peas, string beans, zucchini, spinach and the ear of corn in the boiling water, then plunge them into the ice water to stop cooking. The goal is to cook everything just to the point where an element of crispness still remains. The snap peas and string beans will take 1 to 2 minutes, the zucchini about a minute; the spinach only 15 to 30 seconds, and the corn 2 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and use a sharp knife to strip the corn kernels from the cob. Discard the cob.

3. Fill a small pot with salted water. Add the leeks and potato, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Plunge into the ice water with the other vegetables. Drain and dry all the vegetables.

4. Toss the blanched vegetables (including the corn) in a bowl with 1 tablespoon each of the remaining mint and basil, the cream, and the juice of half the lemon. Season with salt and pepper and toss well. Spread the vegetables in a 1-inch layer in a gratin dish.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Toss with the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. Spread over the vegetables. Bake the gratin until the vegetables are tender and the cream is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

7. While the gratin is baking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the salmon liberally with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, almost smoking, add the salmon fillets (the side that used to have the skin should be up) and sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Do not try to move the fillets until they've gotten a good sear, or they'll stick to the pan. Cook them on one side only. Remove from the heat.

8. As soon as the gratin finishes baking, set the salmon fillets, seared side up, on top of the gratin. Return to the oven until the fish is cooked to medium, another 10 minutes or so. Squeeze the remaining lemon half over the fish and garnish with the mint sprigs. Serve immediately.