Thursday, June 17, 2010

Home Cured Salmon on Mushroom Blini & Paper Chef #53 Winner

Sometimes my food blog is also my touch stone. Do you ever have those times when work and life's details feel like too much batter for one tiny bowl? It's been one of those weeks for me. Now, as my pages of TO-DO lists look a little more TO-DOable, I can sit and focus on the art of food.
Home Cured Salmon on Mushroom Blini
This recipe came about because of ingredients that were chosen for this month's Paper Chef Challenge. The ingredients (that I helped randomly facilitate) were: Vodka, Salmon, Thyme, and Dried Mushrooms. I'm not in the running, but I can't just sit by and watch the others without playing, so I created one just for fun. The fun turned into a nice Appetizer that I served at a catered party. The curing takes a few days and was very flavorful, but you could also use store bought Gravlax or Smoked Salmon. The Blini is incredibly easy to prep and cooking off takes only a few minutes. (Recipe for Home Cured Salmon with Mushroom Blini at the end of post )

As the winner of last month's Paper Chef (chosen by the talented Fiona of
Nice Profiteroles), it is up to me to pick from the lovely entrants on this Paper Chef #53 Roundup.
Karen's Salmon Terrine with Leeks and Mushrooms in Vodka Cream
Kizzy with a Wellington of Salmon
Pauline with a Flammekueche and mushroom soup Flammekueche and mushroom soup NOW THE IMPORTANT THING: The Winner: You can imagine how hard the choosing is when all these recipes sound so good and the pictures make me hungry in a thousand different ways. The Terrine is both gorgeous and company-friendly. The pastry encased Salmon sounds and looks so flaky and tender and satisfying. The Flammekueche sounds so unique with the Salmon addition and Mushroom soup is a favorite of mine. Since there MUST be a solo winner: I choose the Salmon Terrine by Karen. I'm a sucker for seasonal cooking, and the idea of a nice chilled luncheon dish on a hot summer day got the best of me. Congrats to all of you, every one of these recipes are in my files and I can' t wait to share them. Check back with Paper Chef for next month's ingredients and ask a friend to join, it's loads of fun.

ShowFood Chef RECIPE: Home Cured Salmon with Mushroom Blini

1lb. Salmon Fillet (all pin bones removed)

1/4 cup Salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Vodka

1 Tbls. Fresh Thyme (chopped)

2 Tbls. (or several large sprigs) Fresh Dill (chopped)

1 tsp. Fresh ground black pepper

Place Salmon on several layers of plastic wrap. Create a paste with remaining ingredients. Rub Salmon with paste all over and pressing gently to reach creases in the Salmon. Lay any sprigs of fresh dill on top of Salmon.
Wrap the Salmon in the plastic and place in small pan.
Place the pan of Salmon inside a larger pan, and lay large cans or a small cooking brick on top of Salmon to help press out moisture.
Refrigerate for at least 36 hours, or up to 3 days. (Pour off liquid after the first 24 hours.)

Remove Salmon and wash off the brining. Carve Salmon on the diagonal in strips as thin as desired for serving.

Blini:
1/2 cup Dried Mushrooms (reconstitute for 45 minutes in warm water, then chop into chunks)

2 eggs

3 Tbls. water

*Combine these into a blender and puree til creamy.

*Add puree into a bowl with:
4 Tbls. Flour
dash of salt and pepper

*Stir to form a paste.
*In a separate bowl:
Whip 1 egg white to soft peaks.
*Fold whipped egg white into the mushroom paste mixture til fully incorporated.
*In a skillet with drizzle of oil and heated to Med/High, drop little circles of batter (about 2 inches diameter) and cook like pancakes; when browned on one side, flip and cook for a moment to brown on other side.
*Remove to a warm plate to hold.

*Serve:
Blini can be warm or room temp. and topped with a dollop of sour cream, a small sliver of Salmon and garnished with dill or thyme.


3 comments:

Khali//Bandit and the Scene Stealers said...

Ooooo look at how pretty those are. I just want to reach into my computer and take one. I almost just licked the screen they looked so pretty and yummy.

Anonymous said...

I like your pretty pictures! And the pictures of food, too!

Anonymous said...

Blini recipe worked well, although I couldn't taste much mushroom at all...:/ I subbed the flour for gluten free (Ahern AP blend) and it worked perfectly.
Did you squeeze excess moisture out of the mushrooms before pureeing them? I found my batter pre-white to be quite thin, rather than a paste...added a bit of extra flour to compensate. Served them with sour cream and house cured salmon done in coriander, black peppercorn and orange juice, they were quite popular. :) Thanks!