Saumon Froid, ou Darne de Saumon Froid à la Norvégienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •46 cm chilled oval serving platter
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve or damp muslin
• •Pastry brush
• •Food processor or mortar
• •Piping bag with plain and small leaf tips
• •Whisk and deep mixing bowl
• •Shallow trays for rapid chilling

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the aspic base

   Chill a 46 cm oval serving platter until it feels thoroughly cold. Melt the aspic over the lowest heat only until liquid, never boiling it, then cool it over an ice bath until it flows like light oil. Pour 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) onto the platter, tilting to make an even layer about 3 mm deep, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. If the aspic begins setting before the platter is coated, scrape it back into the pan and melt it gently. Ça se rattrape. A hurried, lumpy base does not improve beneath decoration.

   The aspic is ready to use when it coats a cold spoon transparently and stays there. Watery aspic runs off; ropy aspic has gone too cold.
2. 2

   Shape the rice cushion

   Put the rice, water, and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) of the salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice is very tender and the water has been absorbed, about 18 minutes. Rest it covered for 10 minutes, then spread it on a shallow tray to cool quickly. While barely warm, pack it firmly into a narrow oval about 30 cm long and slightly smaller than the salmon, using a parchment collar or small loaf tin as a guide. Chill until solid, then slide it carefully onto the set aspic. If the rice cracks, mix in 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of fluid aspic, press it together again, and chill. The cushion is support, not sculpture for its own sake.

3. 3

   Marinate cucumber timbales

   Cut four neat cylinders from the cucumber, each about 5 cm tall. Peel them, hollow out the seeded centers without cutting through the bases, and parboil them in well-salted water for 90 seconds. Chill immediately in ice water, drain, and cover with the chilled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) for 15 minutes. Drain upside down and blot every surface dry. Longer marinating softens the walls. If a timbale splits, trim it into a lower ring and pipe the filling generously; the silhouette changes, but the garnish remains sound.

4. 4

   Pipe smoked salmon domes

   Process the smoked salmon and softened butter until perfectly smooth, scraping the bowl often. Add the cold cream a spoonful at a time, then season with the white pepper. Press the purée through a fine sieve if any fibers remain. Transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe a full dome into each cucumber timbale. If the purée turns loose or greasy, set the bowl over ice and work it firmly with a spatula until the butter catches again. Ça se rattrape. Refrigerate the filled timbales.

5. 5

   Whisk the Russe sauce

   Whisk the pasteurized yolks with the Dijon mustard, vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g) of salt. Add the oil drop by drop until the emulsion takes, then pour it in a fine steady thread while whisking constantly. Stir in the lemon juice. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml / 55 g) of this plain mayonnaise for the shrimp tails, then fold the horseradish into the remainder to make the Russe sauce. If the mayonnaise breaks, put 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) of cold water in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken sauce a teaspoon at a time. Keep both portions covered and cold.

6. 6

   Glaze eggs and tomatoes

   Halve the hard-boiled eggs lengthwise and blot the cut surfaces dry. Brush them with a thin coat of fluid aspic, chill until set, then repeat until they wear a clear, even gloss. Score the tomatoes, lower them into boiling water for 10 seconds, chill, and peel them without tearing the flesh. Set each inside the corner of a clean towel and press with a gentle twisting motion to restore its round shape. For the beurre vert (green herb butter), blanch the parsley leaves for 10 seconds, chill, squeeze very dry, and pound them into the softened butter. Pass it through a fine sieve, pipe one small leaf onto each tomato, and insert a parsley stem tip beside it.

7. 7

   Fill beetroot barquettes

   Marinate the diced beetroot in the chilled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) for 15 minutes, then drain and blot it thoroughly. Fill the baked Barquettes (No. 314) with the beetroot. Fold the shrimp tails through the reserved plain mayonnaise just firmly enough to cohere them, then mound them over the beetroot. Assemble these no more than 20 minutes before they meet the platter, or the pastry will lose its crisp edges.

8. 8

   Seat salmon and prawns

   Lift the chilled salmon prepared through the glazing stage of Saumon Froid, ou Darne de Saumon Froid en Belle-vue (No. 804) onto the rice cushion, centering it so the rice supports the fish without showing broadly around it. If the final aspic veil has dulled, brush on one more very thin coat and chill for 5 minutes. Arrange the prawns in a close row along the salmon, using tiny drops of fluid aspic beneath them to hold them in place.

9. 9

   Build the garnish ring

   Arrange the cucumber timbales, glazed egg halves, tomatoes with beurre vert, and filled beetroot barquettes in a repeating ring around the rice cushion. Keep the garnishes close enough to read as one generous composition, but leave a narrow border of clear aspic visible at the edge. Brush away any stray mayonnaise or beetroot marinade before it marks the jelly. This is precision in the service of appetite, not plating theater.

10. 10

    Chill and serve

    Refrigerate the completed platter for 20 to 30 minutes so every aspic joint sets. Bring it out about 10 minutes before serving, with the Russe sauce in a chilled sauceboat beside it. Carve the salmon across the grain and give each plate some rice, a prawn, and a share of the garnish ring. Keep the platter cold and do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A darne is a thick cross-cut section taken through the salmon, often with bone at its center. For four people, a compact center-cut salmon piece is easier to source and glaze evenly, and the title itself permits either form.
• •Clear aspic cannot hide careless handling. Melt it gently, skim rather than stir, and strain it through damp muslin if a few particles appear. Once it boils hard and turns cloudy, no garnish can make it transparent again.
• •Choose prawns and shrimp that taste clean and sweet when cold. Cold dulls weak seasoning and exposes stale seafood immediately, so taste one before committing the whole row to the salmon.
• •Keep the Russe sauce apart until serving. Its horseradish should cut through the salmon and aspic, but spooning it over the platter would cloud the glaze and soften the barquettes.
• •The finished platter is best the day it is assembled. Cover it without letting wrapping touch the aspic, refrigerate promptly, and eat any leftovers within a day.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the salmon through the glazing stage of Saumon Froid, ou Darne de Saumon Froid en Belle-vue (No. 804) up to a day ahead and keep it covered without letting the wrapping touch its aspic surface.
• •Make and chill the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) in advance. Bake the Barquettes (No. 314) up to a day ahead and hold them airtight at room temperature.
• •The aspic floor, rice cushion, glazed eggs, beurre vert, and smoked-salmon purée can be completed up to 6 hours before serving. Fill the cucumber timbales closer to assembly.
• •Assemble the beetroot barquettes shortly before serving so their pastry remains crisp. The complete platter may wait in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 960g)