Cadgerée of Salmon

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid
• •Medium saucepan and balloon whisk
• •Shallow covered baking dish
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •2-quart (2-liter) deep heatproof serving bowl
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the pilaff

   Melt the 2 teaspoons butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes without colouring, until soft and translucent. Stir in the rice and cook for another minute, turning every grain through the butter until its edges look glassy. Add the stock or water, bay leaf, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bring it to one full boil, stir once, cover tightly, and cook over the lowest heat for 14 minutes. Remove it from the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes, then discard the bay leaf and fluff gently. The grains must be fully tender but separate. If they remain firm and the pan is dry, add 2 tablespoons of hot water, cover, and rest over low heat for 5 minutes. If they are wet, uncover them over low heat for a minute, then rest again.

2. 2

   Hard-boil the eggs

   While the rice cooks, lower the eggs into a saucepan of gently boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Transfer them to cold water for 3 minutes, just long enough to stop the cooking and make peeling manageable. Peel them, then hold them in warm water until assembly so they do not chill the dish. Dice them into pieces about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) across.

   A violent boil knocks the eggs against the pan and cracks their shells. Keep the water lively but controlled.
3. 3

   Cook the salmon

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Butter a shallow baking dish with the 1 teaspoon butter and set the salmon inside, skin-side down. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, add the 2 tablespoons water around the fish, and cover the dish tightly with parchment and foil. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on thickness, until the center reaches 145°F (63°C) and separates into moist flakes. Uncover it immediately. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and every pin bone, then break the flesh into small pieces rather than crushing it. Measure 12 ounces (340 g) for the dish. If an edge has cooked too far, keep those drier flakes for the upper layer where the Béchamel will cover them.

4. 4

   Make curry Béchamel

   Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the curry powder and stir for 20 seconds, only until fragrant, then add the flour. Cook this pale roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly; it should look sandy but take no brown colour. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk a little at a time, making each addition smooth before adding the next. Return it to medium-low heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, whisking along the base and corners, until the Béchamel reaches nappe, meaning it coats the back of a spoon while still flowing freely. Season with the white pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. You need 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) for assembly. If the sauce becomes too thick, whisk in extra milk a spoonful at a time. If lumps remain, take it off the heat, whisk vigorously, and pass it through a fine sieve. Ça se rattrape.

   Bloom the curry briefly and gently. Burn it and the sauce turns bitter; twenty fragrant seconds in butter are enough.
5. 5

   Ready the components

   Measure 12 ounces (340 g) of the warm pilaff, reserving any excess for another meal. Fill a 2-quart (2-liter) heatproof serving bowl with very hot water and let it stand for 3 minutes, then empty and dry it thoroughly. This warmed bowl is the honest home equivalent of the source's hot timbale. Keep the salmon in broad flakes and the egg in clean dice; the layering should show what each ingredient is.

6. 6

   Layer and coat

   Spoon a loose layer of pilaff into the warmed bowl, scatter over salmon and diced egg, then repeat until all three components are used. Do not press them down. Pour the hot curry Béchamel over the surface in a broad, complete coating, encouraging it just slightly into the edges without stirring the layers together. There is no broiling and no browned crust; the source calls for a glossy coating of sauce. Carry it straight to the table and serve with a broad spoon. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Already-cooked salmon is entirely welcome because the source itself begins there. Use exactly 12 ounces (340 g), clear it carefully of skin and bones, and warm it gently under cover before layering. Leftover poached or roasted salmon is better here than smoked salmon, which changes the dish's balance.
• •Choose a mild, aromatic curry powder rather than a fiery one. Its work is to perfume the Béchamel and give it a soft gold cast; the salmon should remain the first flavour you taste.
• •Weigh the finished pilaff and salmon if you can. Equal cooked weights are the architecture of the source recipe, while the three eggs and 320 ml of sauce preserve its proportions after scaling.
• •Do not put the assembled dish in the oven. Continued cooking dries the salmon, hardens the egg, and turns the Béchamel into a skin. Warm components and a heated serving bowl provide all the heat it needs.
• •A dry Alsace Riesling works beautifully beside the curry and rich sauce, with enough freshness to meet the salmon without bullying it.
• •Chill leftovers in a shallow covered container within 2 hours. Keep them for up to 2 days and reheat once, gently but thoroughly, to 165°F (74°C).

Advance Preparation

• •The curry Béchamel can be made up to 1 day ahead. Press buttered parchment directly onto its surface, chill it, then reheat over low heat while whisking in enough milk to restore a flowing coating consistency.
• •The eggs can be hard-boiled and peeled up to 2 days ahead. Keep them covered in the refrigerator and warm them briefly in hot water before dicing.
• •The salmon may be cooked the previous evening and chilled promptly. Bring it out while the pilaff cooks, then warm it gently under cover so the final dish reaches the table hot.
• •Make the pilaff close to serving when possible. If prepared ahead, spread it in a shallow dish, chill it within 1 hour, and reheat it thoroughly with a spoonful of water before measuring the required 12 ounces (340 g).

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)