Cold Poached Salmon with Watercress and New Potatoes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide, shallow pan or deep sauté pan for poaching
• •Fish slice or large slotted spatula
• •Wide serving plate or platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the poaching liquid

   Fill a wide, shallow pan with enough water to cover the salmon later. Add the lemon slices, peppercorns, bay leaves, and the wine. Bring it to a gentle simmer, not a boil, and let it tick away for five minutes. The kitchen will start to smell clean and citrussy and faintly botanical. That's the bay leaves doing their work. This is your court-bouillon, though you don't need to call it that. It's just good poaching water.

   A wide sauté pan or deep frying pan works better than a saucepan here. The salmon needs to lie flat in a single layer, with the liquid just covering it.
2. 2

   Poach the salmon

   Lower the heat until the surface of the liquid barely trembles. Slide the salmon fillets in, skin side down. The water should just cover them. If it doesn't, add a little more. Let them poach for eight to ten minutes. You're not looking for a timer to tell you when they're done. Press the thickest part gently with your finger. When it gives slightly but springs back, like pressing a cushion, it's ready. The flesh should be opaque at the edges but still have a translucent blush at the centre. It will carry on cooking as it cools.

   The water must never boil. A hard simmer toughens salmon and turns it chalky. You want the gentlest movement, a surface that shivers rather than bubbles.
3. 3

   Cool the salmon

   Lift the salmon out carefully with a fish slice and lay it on a plate. Peel away the skin while it's still warm. It should come off in one piece. Let the fish cool to room temperature, then cover loosely and refrigerate until properly cold. Don't rush this. Cold salmon that hasn't fully chilled is neither one thing nor the other.

4. 4

   Cook the new potatoes

   Put the potatoes into cold salted water and bring to a steady simmer. Cook until a knife slides through without resistance, fifteen to twenty minutes depending on size. Drain and let them sit in the colander for a minute to steam dry. Cut the larger ones in half while still warm. You want them to absorb the dressing, and warm potatoes do that willingly where cold ones refuse.

   Jersey Royals, if the season is right, need nothing more than this. Their flavour is already there. If you can't find them, any small, waxy new potato will serve. Charlotte or Anya are both good.
5. 5

   Make the dill dressing

   Stir together the crème fraîche, most of the chopped dill (save a pinch for later), the lemon juice, and a good pinch of salt. Taste it. It should be cool and sharp and herby, bright enough to stand up to the richness of the salmon. If it needs more lemon, add more lemon. Your kitchen, your rules.

6. 6

   Dress the potatoes

   While the potatoes are still warm, toss them gently with a drizzle of olive oil, the finely sliced shallot, a squeeze of lemon, and a little salt. The shallot will soften slightly in the warmth of the potatoes, losing its raw bite and turning sweet. Let them sit for five minutes. They'll be better for it.

7. 7

   Assemble and serve

   Scatter the watercress across a wide serving plate or divide it between four plates. Spoon the dressed potatoes over and among the leaves. Lay the cold salmon on top, breaking it into large, generous flakes rather than keeping the fillets whole. It looks more inviting this way, more like food and less like a presentation. Spoon the dill dressing over and around, scatter the reserved dill and the sliced cornichons if you're using them, and finish with a thread of olive oil and a grind of black pepper. Serve it at the table. Let people help themselves.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the salmon from someone who can tell you where it came from. Wild, if you can get it and afford it. The colour will be deeper and the flavour will have a clean, almost mineral edge. Farmed is fine too, but seek out the best you can manage. There aren't many ingredients here and each one is exposed.
• •Poaching is an act of patience, not technique. The water should barely move. If you can see bubbles breaking the surface, the heat is too high. Think of it as a warm bath, not a boil. The salmon will thank you by staying silky instead of turning dry.
• •Dress the potatoes while they're warm. This is not negotiable. A warm potato is porous and generous. A cold potato is sealed shut. The olive oil, the shallot, the lemon: they need that warmth to soak in and become part of the thing rather than sitting on the surface.
• •Watercress wilts quickly once dressed. Don't add it to the plate until you're ready to serve. Its peppery bite is the counterpoint to the rich salmon and the cool, creamy dressing. Without it, the plate would be pleasant. With it, the plate is alive.

Advance Preparation

• •The salmon can be poached up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Bring it to just below room temperature for twenty minutes before serving. Fridge-cold salmon tastes muted.
• •The dill dressing keeps well in the fridge for two days. The dill will darken slightly but the flavour holds.
• •Cook and dress the potatoes no more than an hour before serving. They're best warm, not cold and not hot. That window between is where they belong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)