salmonchanted evening

when you move to the pacific northwest, you're put through a rigorous screening process and asked three basic, but terribly important questions: 

1) are you willing to tell the rest of the world that it rains here every day (even though it doesn't) to stop more people from moving here?

2) are you prepared to drink coffee every morning for the rest of your life?

and...

3) do you like salmon?

lucky for me, i answered all with a resounding "yes," so they gave me my plaid shirt and welcomed me with open arms to my new home. 

of all the delicious salmon we get in seattle, copper river is truly the best of the best.  (the cream of the crop.  the kobe of the beef.  the connery of the bonds.)  darker in colour, the flavour of copper river salmon is richer, deeper, and more... salmony.  the only downfall being that copper river season lasts about 40 seconds and then POOF it's over and you're left picking between roger moore and timothy dalton at the fish counter.  i tend to stock up during those precious 40 seconds, then portion up the deliciousness into the freezer, ready to be sprung from the vaults whenever i have a craving (or whenever a pal invites me over for dinner so we can drink wine and act like snooty french ladies).  these aren’t your rillettes of yore, complete with a rather off-putting, wobbly layer of congealed fat on top.  ‘cause, no, I do not want to go to there.  no, these are tart, lemony, buttery morsels of seattle’s favourite fish, refreshing yet indulgent at the same time.  so go ahead and crank up “la vie en rose,” pull on your beret at its jauntiest angle, and dig right in.  bonne chance et bon appétit!

salmon rillettes (adapted from “around my french table” by dorie greenspan)

1 lemon

1 small red jalapeno chile

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup water

1 bay leaf

5 pink peppercorns (truth: i have no pink peppercorns, much to the chagrin of darling daughter, who would like all things pink at all times.  regular black ones worked just fine)

5 coriander seeds

2 small spring onions, peeled, long green tops removed and reserved.  (i used 4.  I’m crazy like that)

1/2 pound salmon filet, skin and bones removed, cut into small (about 1/2 inch) cubes

¼-ish pound smoked salmon cut into small (about 1/4 inch) dice (i use the hot-smoked salmon as i prefer the flavor and the texture)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

salt and freshly ground pepper

using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of zest from the lemon and toss it into a medium-sized saucepan; finely grate the rest of the zest and reserve.   cut a small slice of the red chile and toss into the saucepan; seed and finely dice the remainder of the chile and reserve. 

pour the wine and water into the pan, add the bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, onion tops and 1/2 teaspoon salt and put the pan over medium heat.  bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

add the cubes of fresh salmon into the pan, cover and poach the fish for just 1 minute.  turn everything into a strainer, drain, discard seasonings, then transfer the salmon to a mixing bowl.

with the back of a fork, lightly mash the poached salmon, then toss the smoked salmon, lemon zest, diced chile and chopped onion into the bowl.  add the softened butter and use the fork to stir and mash it into the mixture until it’s well incorporated and you have a thick spread.  add the lemon juice into the bowl, stir it in, and season with salt and pepper.

pack the rillettes into a jar (a canning jar is traditional) or bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and chill for at least 2 hours – you want it to be firm – or for up to overnight.

serve with crusty bread, green salad, a bottle of grenache, and bad attempts at snooty french accents.