How to poach salmon video: Poached salmon with cherry tomato salad and poached salmon with potato, leek and watercress dauphinoise made easy

How to poach salmon

Poaching is a gentle, healthy way to cook salmon and you can add lots of different flavours to the liquid. It is best to poach the salmon starting with the liquid cold, as this will result in more evenly cooked fish. Controlling the temperature of the water and keeping it well under boiling point ensures that the fish isn’t exposed to high temperatures that could cause it to overcook, which creates unattractive droplets of white protein on the outside of the salmon.

A court bouillon is the most classical choice of stock for poaching fish, traditionally made up of water, white wine, carrot, celery, onion and black pepper.

It is simmered for just under an hour before being cooled to use for poaching. An alternative court bouillon uses milk instead of water and wine, or for an Asian twist you could even try using coconut milk and flavouring it with lemongrass, chilli and kaffir lime. Other herbs and spices can be added to your court bouillon, too; fennel, star anise, coriander seeds and dill seeds are all great ingredients to try.

Another method of poaching, known as confit, uses olive oil. Cooking a piece of salmon at a low temperature in oil (between 48–50°C is ideal) results in a rich, silky texture and a perfectly tender piece of fish, and the oil can be flavoured with herbs and spices. When poaching salmon in olive oil it is important to season the fish directly as the salt will not dissolve in the oil.

Court bouillon

1l water
​200ml of white wine
1 celery stick, chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
Salmon
2 salmon fillets, each weighing 200g
salt

Place all of the ingredients for the court bouillon in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook over a low heat for 45 minutes, then strain and chill. Fill a saucepan big enough to fit the salmon with the court bouillon and season to taste (any leftover stock can be frozen).

Place the salmon portions in the stock and cook over a low heat. For a 2.5cm thick piece of fish, poach for 7–8 minutes. The fish is cooked when a metal skewer goes easily through the thickest part of the flesh. Carefully remove the salmon from the stock and serve.

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Poached salmon with potato, leek and watercress dauphinoise by Food Urchin

This wonderfully light poached salmon fillet recipe is served with watercress, leek and potato dauphinoise for a fresher take on the classic. The salmon is poached in a dill-infused fish stock for a beautifully aromatic flavour.

Poached salmon fillets

4 salmon fillets, each weighing 180-200g
1 banana shallot, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1l fish stock
3 sprigs of dill
10 black peppercorns

Sauce (optional)

2 sprigs of dill
100g of créme fraiche

Watercress dauphinoise

800g of Maris Piper potatoes, thinly sliced on a mandoline
2 leeks, thinly sliced
​100g of watercress, rinsed and roughly chopped
​500ml of milk, semi-skimmed is fine
50g of Gruyère
salt
pepper
olive oil

To serve

pea shoots

First, preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. Boil some water in a saucepan on the hob and plunge the chopped watercress in for just a minute, or until the water comes back to the boil. Drain and leave to cool. Meanwhile, add a splash of olive oil to a frying pan and place on the hob over a medium heat. Add the leeks and slowly cook down until they become soft and sweet.

Place the milk in a large bowl and add about 700g of the potato slices, along with the watercress. Mix together. Take a rectangular baking dish and very lightly oil the bottom and sides. Evenly add the slices of potato, layering up as you go through. When you are roughly halfway through, add a layer of the leeks and then continue until you have used them all up. Pour over any remaining milk, then with the remaining ‘clean’ potatoes, add a final layer. Press everything down and place in the oven for 50 minutes, until the top starts to crisp up.

After that time, add the sprinkling of Gruyère and bake for a further 10 minutes, until it’s bubbled up and browned a touch. You can do this all in advance if you like, with the benefit of cooling down, covering with foil and pressing overnight in the fridge by placing a tray with some tins on top. This helps to compress the dauphinoise. Just reheat for 25 minutes or so before serving.

To make the accompanying salmon, place all of your aromatics in a wide saucepan and fill with about a litre of water. Bring gently to a simmer and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Then place in the salmon and lightly poach them for 5 to 6 minutes, until they are just done. Lift out and keep in warm in foil while you make the sauce.

Finish by pouring the remaining cooking liquor into a saucepan through a sieve to catch the aromatics. Quickly reduce on the hob by half then add the créme fraiche and stir through. The sauce will be quite light. Plate up with a slice of the dauphinoise, a fillet of salmon sat jauntily to the side, a drizzle of sauce and some pea shoots for colour.

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Poached salmon with cherry tomato salad by Francesco Mazzei

As with many tomato dishes, using the ripest, freshest tomatoes will transform a nice dish into a spectacular one. Francesco Mazzei uses red and yellow cherry and datterino tomatoes in this beautifully summery salmon with tomato salad recipe, topped off with salty, crisp salmon skin.

Poached salmon

4 salmon fillets, each 180g in weight
40g of celery, cut into 4
1 Spanish onion, quartered
5g of fennel seeds
​25ml of white wine
1 lemon, zested
salt

Tomato salad

500g of cherry tomatoes, red and yellow
​500g of datterino tomatoes, red and yellow
15g of black fennel seeds
30g of basil
1 lemon, zest and juice
​250ml of extra virgin olive oil
salt

To serve

1 red onion, small
12 caper berries
2 2/3 handfuls of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only

To prepare the poaching liquor for the salmon, combine 2 litres of water with the celery, Spanish onion, fennel seeds, white wine and lemon zest. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and gently simmer. Gently lower in the fillets and poach for 8-9 minutes, ensuring the water is just on the verge of simmering. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate and carefully remove and reserve the skin from each fillet. Keep the poaching liquid for reheating the salmon later. If you have access to a plancha, place the portions of salmon skin in between 2 pieces of parchment paper and press onto the hot plancha, placing a heavy pan on top to keep them flat. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn over each portion of skin and repeat the process. Remove, season with salt and allow to cool.

Alternatively, sandwich the skins between 2 pieces of parchment paper, in between 2 baking trays to hold in place. Cook in a preheated oven at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 15-20 minutes. Remove and check to see if the skin is crispy - if not, return to the oven for 5 minute increments until you have the desired crispy finish. Using a sharp paring knife, make 2 small, very shallow incisions into the skin of each tomato to form a small cross at the base​.

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 5-10 seconds to loosen the skin. Drain and refresh in ice cold water. Gently remove and discard the skins and season with a pinch of salt, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, black fennel seeds and basil. Bring the poaching liquor up to a simmer and reheat the salmon for 1-2 minutes to warm through, taking care not to overcook.

Slice the red onion into small rings and toss through the tomato salad. Divide the salad onto 4 plates, followed by the warm salmon, crispy skin, caper berries and parsley leaves. Drizzle the dressing from the tomatoes over each plate before serving.

Visit Great British Chefs for more delicious salmon recipes