Many years ago, I tried wrapping fish in potato slices, sautéing
it, then finishing it in the oven. It was “the thing” at the time. It
never worked because the potato and fish never finished cooking at the same
time. To me, it wasn’t worth having overcooked fish just to have a nicely
browned, fully cooked potato crust. Or undercooked fish wrapped in bland shoe
leather.
I let go of the idea – which wasn’t mine in the first place – and
almost twenty years passed by.
Then I saw a recipe in a Provençal cookbook that wrapped fish in
paper-thin slices of courgettes – or zucchini. Hmmm…. another way to use zucchini…
Several things about this appealed to me. For one, zucchini
tastes wonderful raw (as in the Zucchini, Feta, and Mint Salad last week) so,
no matter what, I wouldn’t need to overcook the fish. Second, I figured the
green striping would be quite pretty. Third, I find fish/seafood and seafood
with zucchini is a great combination. (Remember those Shrimp and Zucchini Fritters from last month?)
The cookbook recipe called for frying the wrapped fish, which I
did the first time. It tasted fine, but was difficult to manage; the zucchini
shrank in the frying process, leaving gaps, and making for a not-so-attractive
presentation. Also, it was very difficult to turn neatly, and the browned zucchini
wasn’t as pretty as I thought it would be.
And, let’s be honest, pretty is very important when it comes to
food. We all eat with our eyes, right?
Aside from the aesthetic aspects of the dish, I actually found
the flavor of the dish a bit dull. It needed oopmh. And, thus, the evolution of this recipe started.
The plain goat cheese stuffing was bland, so I added grated lemon zest and herbes de Provence, using the grinder my friends Patricia and Philip gifted me. I brushed the tops with some Australian lemon myrtle-infused
macadamia nut oil for extra moisture, and then sprinkled crushed Australian pepperberries over the whole for added flavor. These last two ingredients were sent to me by John of He Needs Food in Sydney. If you haven’t visited his blog, do yourself a favor and click the link – stunning photography and recipes, as well as great travel articles!
I recalled
another favorite salmon dish I make – Salmone al’Arancia – which is cooked en papillote. I didn’t think this salmon dish needed that level of individual
preparation, but the concept of steam-baking made sense. For the next version, I
simply set the wrapped salmon portions on a rimmed baking sheet, brushed them with oil, sprinkled them with pepperberries, and baked them covered with foil. It came out beautifully and looked good, too.
However, when serving, the fillet looked lonely on the plate, and really needed some
color. In its next incarnation I smeared a puddle of tomato sauce on the plate
and gently slid the salmon bundles on top of the sauce. In the final recipe you see today, I
included some chile flakes in the sauce for some background zing, and a final
flourish atop each serving of chopped or sliced kalamata olives.
I have now made this dish for several friends, all of whom
survived – and reported enjoying it! My thanks to them for their bravery!
As part of my monthly series on food paring with Provençal wines,
I served this with a 2015 Tavel from Château de Ségriès. To read more about
this food and wine pairing, visit the Provence WineZine.
Salmon with Herbed Chèvre Wrapped in Zucchini
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Lois B
August 6, 2016 at 2:45 pmYou are so creatively persistent! I love the evolution of this dish, and the mouth watering description. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for sharing, oh, and I love your grinder!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 6, 2016 at 4:38 pmThanks, Lois – I love when I find a recipe that is perfect the first time, but (more often than not) I tinker and tinker until it is hardly recognizable as the original recipe.
Marcelle
August 6, 2016 at 3:50 pmDavid, this is such a pretty dish and the flavors sounds amazing. Your herb and lemon update to the cheese filling definitely adds the "wow" factor! Would have loved to be on your taste-testing panel 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
August 6, 2016 at 4:38 pmMarcelle – between the lemon in the filling and the lemon oil on top, the lemon is actually my favorite part of this!
Sippity Sup
August 6, 2016 at 4:01 pmI've tried prosciutto, this is much more fresh. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
August 6, 2016 at 4:39 pmHmm. Never thought of prosciutto for salmon, Greg – although it sounds perfectly reasonable!
John | heneedsfood
August 6, 2016 at 8:20 pmAfter all the tinkering it's really turned into a beautifully elegant dish. Such lovely flavours! Glad you enjoyed the Aussie natives, especially the lemon myrtle macadamia oil. I can imagine how good it all tasted together.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 12:34 amJohn, that oil is amazing. I just used it again today in a corn, shrimp, tomato, and basil salad. Fab!
Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things
August 6, 2016 at 11:32 pmA divine recipe, David. Good on John for sending the macadamia oil. It's a beautiful product!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 12:35 amThanks, Liz! You all talk about all these great ingredients that are native to Australia – makes me think I should open and Aussie import store!
Cheri Savory Spoon
August 7, 2016 at 2:21 pmLove how you tinkered with this dish David, the salmon looks perfectly baked and the end result is beautiful. Have a glorious week-end…….
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 12:36 amThanks, Cheri! It came out well – and in one of the trials, I accidentally over-baked it by 5 minutes! It was still moist and perfect. Guess this method is forgiving!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
August 7, 2016 at 5:13 pmYou worked that recipe until you got it right!! Looks and sounds lovely and I adore anything with goat cheese! Not sure if those pepperberries are pink pepperberries, but just so you know, if they are, anyone with tree nut allergies will also react to them as they are related to cashews. My daughter almost died from them 🙁
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 12:37 amThanks, Christina! No, the pepperberries aren't related to pink peppercorns, although for some who cannot get Aussie pepperberries, pink peppercorns might be a good substitute IF you don't have the tree nut allergy!
Unknown
August 8, 2016 at 12:32 amI always love that you keep trying a recipe until it comes out perfectly.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 12:38 amThanks, Carol! I will make this for you next time you come out!
Gerlinde de Broekert
August 8, 2016 at 4:08 amYou created something special here. I can just imagine all the flavors coming together.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 1:46 pmThanks, Gerlinde!
Ngeun
August 8, 2016 at 1:25 pmGolly, this looks absolutely divine! The colours are just beautiful. So glad I'm growing zukes now. Looking forward to trying to create this luscious recipe too. 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
August 8, 2016 at 1:48 pmHave you already been able to plant your zucchini for the season, Ngeun? This has become one of my favorite preparations, especially as it can be done in advance – very nice for entertaining!
Ngeun
August 8, 2016 at 2:43 pmI recently went through a seed sowing phase for flowers, foliage and fruits to photograph and paint and sowed more seeds than I now know what to do with. I start them indoors in small pots and then transplant them to the balcony when they’re bigger. Luckily and surprisingly, a golden zuke seed germinated. Hopefully, it’ll grow trouble free and fortunately, we’ve been getting some sunshine. It’s still a tiny plant but appears to be showing buds already. Please pray with me!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 9, 2016 at 2:25 pmI will! Good luck, and I look forward to seeing the paintings!
Cindy
August 8, 2016 at 8:18 pmAmazing! I love the presentation dish! Great recipe!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 9, 2016 at 2:25 pmThanks, Cindy!
Cathleen | My Culinary Mission
August 9, 2016 at 2:45 amAll I can say is WOW! Bookmarking this one!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 9, 2016 at 2:26 pmThanks, Cathleen – I hope you all enjoy it!
ChgoJohn
August 9, 2016 at 5:16 pmYes, I remember wrapping salmon in potato slices. I won't ever go down that path again. Seeing your final dish, I think we should all thank you for sticking with it until you got it just right. The dish looks beautiful and I'm sure its taste is equally delicious. Well done, David!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 10, 2016 at 4:23 amI am glad I am not the only one who remembers the potato wrapping phase. What a bad idea. The zucchini also makes me think that eggplant could be good, too, but definitely sautéed and not baked. What do you think, John?
Colette (Coco)
August 9, 2016 at 6:54 pmWhat a fresh and elegant dish, D. It's stunning! xo
Cocoa & Lavender
August 10, 2016 at 4:23 amThanks, Colette!
Caroline @ Pinch Me, I'm Eating!
August 11, 2016 at 12:25 amThis looks absolutely stunning and my mouth is watering! What an amazing flavor combination and a beautiful presentation! This is going on my must-make list.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 11, 2016 at 2:32 pmThanks, Caroline! I hope you and Mike enjoy it when you make it!
Valentina
August 11, 2016 at 5:13 amWow, David, this is a truly stunning recipe. Just gorgeous — the colors, the flavors, the textures. Perfection.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 11, 2016 at 2:33 pmThanks, Valentina! It was fun to create! (Or, re-create!)
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
August 12, 2016 at 2:19 amIt was so interesting to hear the evolution of this David! And it turned out beautiful. When I first saw it, I thought it was some exotic tuber! Now I think I'll go back to the drawing board on some of my recipes that were just shy of working!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 12, 2016 at 4:50 pmThanks, Inger – I find if I don't work through a recipe within a couple of weeks, I completely forget about it… which may also be a sign that it wasn't worth the effort in the first place!
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
August 12, 2016 at 1:55 pmDavid, what a beautiful preparation! I love getting to know the evolution of the dish as well.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 12, 2016 at 4:50 pmThanks, Jean – it is a fun process!
All That I'm Eating
August 12, 2016 at 3:40 pmThis sounds delicious and what a great story for how the recipe evolved.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 12, 2016 at 4:51 pmThanks, Caroline!
Unknown
August 25, 2016 at 2:36 pmThis is indeed a beautiful dish. it is a blend of ingredients and flavors i would not have imagined (good thing I am not writing a food blog!) but the final product sounds delicious, especially with the Tavel you picked out!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 25, 2016 at 3:06 pmI hope you and Towny try it… WITH the Tavel!