Grilled Salmon Fillet With Mashed Potatoes & Mushroom Shrimp Sauce
serves 4
Oh so simple to grill a piece of salmon you say but wait until you place the fish on these lovely mashed potatoes and then top it all with the Shiitake Mushroom and Bay Shrimp Sauce and then the wine match and it becomes apparent the it’s not so simple after all.
You’ll Need:
4 fillets of salmon, 5 to 6 ounces each, skinless if possible
1 teaspoon melted butter or olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound baking potatoes, peeled
Water
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh chives
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
Freshly ground white pepper
1/4 cup rice
2 1/2 cups water (or part fish broth)
1/2 pound fresh Shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup Aji-mirin (sweet rice wine) I found a Kikkoman product in the Asian foods section
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 cup bay shrimp/cocktail (small shrimp, shelled)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 green onions finely sliced for garnish
Here’s What To Do:
Grilled Salmon
Preheat a grill to medium-high. Brush the fillets with butter/oil and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Place on a well-oiled grill, with the skin side or what had been the skin-side down. Cover the grill and let them cook for 6 minutes, or until they are not quite cooked through and still slightly translucent at the top.
With a wide spatula, turn them over to brown on the other side for 1 or 2 minutes. If you are using filet’s with skin on, the fish should slide free of the skin at this point so place the skin side of the fillet on the grill to let it char up for a minute or two.
Mashed Potatoes with Chive
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/2-inch chunks. Transfer them to a saucepan and cover them with cold water (by at least an inch), adding 1/2 teaspoon salt per quart of water. Bring the potatoes to a full boil, then reduce the heat and let them boil gently, partially covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are very soft. Drain them well and return them to the hot pan, stirring them until all residual liquid evaporates. Mash them thoroughly with a potato masher, mixing in the chives, hot milk, butter and white pepper as you go. Taste for seasoning. Note: These mashed potatoes will be a bit on the thin side and can be made up to an hour in advance and kept warm in an oven.
Shiitake Mushroom and Bay Shrimp Sauce
Woody’s Note: You want the starchy water from this next step discard the rice when you’ve drained it as per directions.
In advance, combine the rice and the water in a saucepan. Cover and boil gently for 1 hour, or until the liquid thickens lightly and the rice becomes very soft. Strain the liquid into a bowl, pressing the rice to extract as much starch as possible. Return this liquid to the rinsed saucepan and keep it warm. You should have about 1 cup.
Meanwhile, cut the stems off the Shiitake, and slice the mushrooms into narrow strips. In a small saucepan, simmer the mushrooms in the mirin and vinegar, partially covered, until the mushrooms are soft, about 15 minutes. If the shrimp are larger than 1/2 inch, cut them into smaller pieces. When the mushrooms are done, add them and to the shrimp and then add just enough of the rice liquid to make a sauce but you don’t want it too thin. Heat the sauce gently and season it to taste with salt and pepper, it will have a sweet flavor.
Serving Instructions
Put 1/2 to 2/3 cup Chive-Laced Mashed Potatoes on each of four heated plates. Top each potato serving with a salmon fillet. Spoon the Bay Shrimp Shiitake sauce over the fillets. Garnish with a sprinkling of sliced green onion.
What Goes With What Wines Selections
Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste Kabinett Riesling, ‘06 (Riesling)
It’s almost like they added a touch of sweetness, drop by drop to this wine. There is just a hint among the lovely fruit and it is the perfect counter point to the sweetness in the mushrooms of the Salmon dish. $16.79 Sorry NWA
Quinta da Aveleda Vinho Verde, ’07 Portugal (Vinho_Verde)
A fresh, fruity light wine that offers freshness to the palate. It’s a simple, vivacious and smooth white Vinho Verde. $8.79 Sorry NWA