Calamari in Brodo with Salmon

I combined a couple of dishes I've done in the past and the result was excellent. The first was a dish that I modeled after an Eric Ripert recipe. The second was the Prosciutto-wrapped Salmon I did a while back.

This recipe serves 2.

First component, the broth.

In a small saucepan, drizzle some olive oil and then:
1/4 c. diced pancetta...cook until starting to brown
Add 1 sliced shallot and 1 sliced clove of garlic...cook until soft
Add 3T rice wine vinegar, boil until reduced by 1/2
Add 1 c. chicken stock, boil then simmer until reduced by 1/3

Strain and keep broth warm.

Second component:
Sauté:
1/4 c. diced shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 c. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Cook until softened...keep warm.

Third component:
1 1/2 lb. squid...clean and slice into rings. I only use the bodies, I don't like the squiggly bits. It was 1 1/2 lbs before I took the squigglies away.

4T butter
2 cloves garlic, minced.

Melt butter on high heat. Before it browns but when it's really hot, add the squid and garlic. Cook on high heat, tossing a few times for even cooking, for 2 minutes....no longer or they'll be tough.

I'll copy my salmon instructions but change the portion sizes:
1 pound center cut salmon, cut into two pieces
2 slices prosciutto
4T minced parsley
2T cup minced thyme

Mix the parsley and thyme together. Press the herb mixture into the salmon fillets. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each of the herbed salmon fillets.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. My 12 inch copper pan was big enough to do three salmon fillets at a time. Place salmon fillets in the pan with a little olive oil and cook about two minutes on each side. If the fillets are thick like mine were, finish them in the oven at 400° for about 2 minutes.


To plate, place the celery-mixture in a bowl, add the squid, place the salmon on top and pour the broth around the outside.

Prosciutto-wrapped Salmon with "Beurre Rouge"

We had three bottles of Syrah to drink: '03 Cornas from France, '00 Hardy's from Australia, and '02 Ridge from here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I wanted to make a special dinner for our cousin's birthday, but we don't really eat much meat so I had to find something involving fish that would go with Syrah. I think this worked!

This recipe is for 6 servings.

1/4-1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 head frisée, roughly chopped
1/2 c. chicken stock

Sauté the shallots in olive oil until soft. Add the chicken stock and reduce by half. Add the frisée, and briefly toss to coat with the shallots and olive oil. Remove it from the heat and put a lid on it to keep it warm and wilt the frisée. Set aside.

1 cup red wine (I used Syrah to match what we'd be drinking with the meal)
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 stick butter

Sauté shallots in olive oil until soft. Add red wine and bring to boil. Boil until it's reduced to a syrupy sauce. Turn off heat and whisk in 1/2-3/4 of a stick of butter, one pat at a time.


2 1/2 pounds center cut salmon, cut into six pieces
12 slices prosciutto
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced thyme

Mix the parsley and thyme together. Press the herb mixture into the salmon fillets. Wrap two pieces of prosciutto around each of the herbed salmon fillets.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. My 12 inch copper pan was big enough to do three salmon fillets at a time. Place salmon fillets in the pan with a little olive oil and cook about three minutes on each side.



To plate, put one tablespoon of red wine sauce on the plate. Top with the wilted endive and shallots. Place the fish on top of that. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the fish. Garnish with something pretty and green, I used micro arugula.

Voilà... delicious!! It was so good in fact, I forgot to take a picture before I dug in! Oops!!

Le Bernadin-inspired Salmon and Apples

I went to the store to get the ingredients for this great salmon recipe in my On the Line, Inside the World of Le Bernardin cookbook and, oddly, my fish monger had no salmon! So this went from a Le Bernadin recipe to a Le Bernadin-inspired recipe. This was night two of my exploration of the new cookbook (this is night one).

It is alternating layers of trout, apples, and smoked salmon. It's topped with a salad of julienned apples, celery, celery leaf, parsley, and lemon zest tossed with lemon juice and olive oil. The whole thing is drizzled with a serrano pepper emulsion.

I'd like to try it again with the proper ingredients, but this was amazingly good.