FOS Part 3

Salmon Tartare with Crème Fraiche, Salmon Roe and Black Salt

10-12 oz salmon fillet, belly if at all possible (fat content, yo)
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (lemon oil if you have it)
1tbsp finely sliced chives
2-3tbsp minced shallots, brunoise them if you’re feeling perky
2 turns of a white pepper grinder
juice of half a lemon, maybe two (halves…)
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup of crème fraiche
pinch or two of black Hawaiian volcano salt (ditch for caviar if you’ve got the means)
small jar of salmon row
 
The key to this snack is actually using a proper chef’s knife to slice and dice the salmon – if you try to use a Cuisinart to save you and your wrists the effort, you would cheat your self out of the velvety nugget-like texture of the salmon and probably end up with something resembling more of a pate than tartare. Don’t wuss out.

Mix the first seven ingredients gently, so as not to smear the salmon. Also be careful not to overdo the lemon juice as this will tend to cure the salmon completely and make it rubbery. Not that cured salmon isn’t good, it’s just not what we’re going for here. All we want to accomplish with the lemon juice is to provide an aromatic background and to “cut the fat” in the fish.

Place immediately on your chosen serving utensil, preferably a conge spoon (which is essentially the spoon they usually give you for wonton soup - a nice over-sized table spoon would do the job as well) and proceed to garnish with the crème fraiche, the salmon roe, and a pinch of the black salt (this is our only substitute for caviar at this point…). Say, “hot damn is that sexy” and pass around to your guests. If you really want to step this up, go to page 6 of your friend’s copy of The French Laundry Cookbook and take a whack at those savoury mini tuile coronets. Dead sexy. Daaaaaa……Thomas is the man.