Foil-Poached Salmon with Herb Mayonnaise, Spring Greens and New Potatoes

Serves	4 to 5
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	1 hour, 15 minutes
Total time	1 hour, 30 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Fish
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Valentines day
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A stunning and elegant way to serve a whole salmon, and this is also easy to prepare, as the salmon is poached with herbs and a little wine in a foil parcel in the oven. Serve with herb mayonnaise, orange buttered spring greens and minted new potatoes for a special family lunch or celebration meal. A whole salmon will feed four to five people with ease, with enough left for some tasty leftover dishes; or, serve as one meal for up to eight or nine people. Use organic wild Scottish salmon for the best taste and quality, as well as being rich in Omega 3 oils, which is essential for good health.

Ingredients

Salmon & Mayonnaise

2 to 2.5kg whole organic salmon
a little olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced into rings
1 lemon, sliced
2 bay leaves
100mls dry white wine
125mls mayonnaise (home-made or organic)
20g t0 30g fresh chopped herbs (I used dill, parsley and chives)
watercress or lamb's lettuce leaves (to garnish)
cucumber, sliced (to garnish)
parsley (to garnish)
lemon wedges (to serve)

Potatoes

900g new potatoes (scrubbed and cut in half if large)
handful fresh mint (half of the mint chopped, leave some sprigs whole to add to the potatoes whilst they boil)
25g butter

Spring Greens

650g spring greens (or cabbage, chard, spinach)
zest and juice of 1 large orange
40g butter

Note

Directions

Step 1	SALMON: Pre-heat the oven to 150C/Gas Mark2. Place the salmon on a large sheet of oiled tinfoil. Put the onion, bay leaves and the lemon slices inside the salmon, pour over the wine and then season with salt and black pepper; bring the foil up and around the salmon and seal well to make a parcel. Lift the salmon onto a baking tray and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the salmon from the oven, and allow to cool for about 10 minutes inside the tinfoil parcel.
Step 2	Unwrap the salmon, and carefully peel away the skin (and fins) from both sides, being careful when turning the salmon over. You can leave the head and tail on if you wish. Carefully lift the salmon onto a platter, then garnish with watercress, cucumber, lemon wedges and parsley.
Step 3	Make the herb mayonnaise by mixing the fresh herbs with the mayonnaise; adjust the seasoning with a little lemon juice if desired, and then spoon the mayonnaise into an attractive serving bowl.
Step 4	To serve, spoon the salmon onto plates, in thick pieces. Remove the onions, lemon slices and bay leaves from the cavity (set them to one side, as they can be used for a leftover dish), and gently pull away the large central bone, before serving salmon from the bottom fillet. Serve the salmon with the herb mayonnaise, minted potatoes and spring greens.
Step 5	POTATOES: Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the potatoes with a sprig of mint, cook them for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of potatoes. Remove the mint and then drain the potatoes well. Pile the potatoes into a large (warmed) serving bowl, and add some butter and the finely chopped fresh mint leaves.
Step 6	SPRING GREENS: Make the orange butter by adding the grated zest and juice of the orange to the softened butter. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the greens and cook them for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, add the orange butter and arrange them in a warmed serving bowl.