Salmon with Herb Beurre Blanc

Ingredients

Fish Stock

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 onion, 1cm dice
• 1 leek, 1cm dice
• 2 stalks celery, 1 cm dice
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 500g salmon bones, rinsed in cold water
• 2 thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 500ml packaged fish stock

Wine Reduction

• 750ml dry white wine
• ½ cup champagne vinegar
• 4 shallots, finely diced
• 2 sprigs tarragon

Salmon

• 6 x 80g salmon portions, skin off

Fried Capers

• 500ml canola oil
• 4 tablespoons capers, drained

Herb Beurre Blanc

• Fish Stock
• Wine Reduction
• 250g butter, cold, cubed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped chervil leaves
• ½ tbsp chopped chives
• 3 sprigs parsley
• 1 ½ tbsp red vein sorrel leaves
• 4 finger limes

Steps

• Fill and heat a water bath to 42°C.
• For the Fish Stock, place ghee into a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, leek, celery and garlic and cook until softened but not coloured.
• Add the salmon bones and fry off lightly. Add the fish stock and herbs. Bring to a simmer and skim and discard fat from the surface. Simmer for 30 minutes then strain through a muslin lined sieve.
• For the Wine Reduction, combine ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer until the liquid has reduced by 2/3’s. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside.
• For the Salmon, season the salmon portions and place into individual sous vide bags and vacuum seal. Cook in the water bath until the flesh is just set, about 25 minutes.
• For the Fried Capers, heat the oil in a medium saucepan to 180°C.
• Use paper towel to thoroughly dry the capers. Carefully add to the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the oil and place onto paper towel to drain.
• For the Herb Beurre Blanc, combine the Fish Stock and Wine Reduction in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
• Add the butter piece by piece, whisking in between additions, until combined. Remove from the heat and just before serving, add lemon juice, herbs, finger lime pearls and salt.
• To serve, pour approximately 100ml of sauce into a bowl or plate. Remove the fish from the bags and place in the centre of the sauce. Season the fish with a pinch of salt flakes. Sprinkle fried capers around the salmon and serve immediately.