Cucumber Cress And Caper Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Make a Court-Bouillon: Pour 6 quarts cold water into a large stockpot. Add carrots, celery, leek, vinegar, lemon, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, and cook 30 minutes. Pour into a fish poacher, and set aside until lukewarm, about 45 minutes.
• Set fish poacher on stove over two burners. Lower rack so it rests on vegetables; place salmon on rack (remove tail if needed). Add enough water to cover.
• Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Poach salmon 10 minutes per inch of thickness or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest point registers 130 degrees. Remove poacher from heat; let cool until no longer steaming, about 1 hour. Refrigerate salmon in court-bouillon overnight.
• Lift salmon on rack from the court-bouillon, and set over a large pan or sink; let drain 30 minutes. Transfer salmon to a clean work surface. Cut through skin near head, and pull skin off top side of fish. Use the back of a knife to scrape off any brown flesh from surface. Using tweezers, pull out bones along back. Slide salmon onto a serving platter. Salmon can be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, up to 4 hours before serving.
• To serve, cut cucumber lengthwise into very thin strips using a mandoline or vegetable peeler. Arrange strips diagonally across salmon, spacing 1 inch apart. Garnish with remaining cucumber, cress, and chives. Serve with sauce.

Steps:

• Prepare poacher Pour the Court Bouillon into a fish poacher and set the poacher over two burners on the stove. Lower the rack so it rests on the vegetables (in the court bouillon), then lay salmon on rack (trim the tail if necessary to fit inside). Add enough cool water to cover the fish completely; or, if only a small bit of fish is showing, you can cover it with a piece of parchment paper (cut to fit inside poacher).
• Poach fish Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Check temperature with a candy thermometer and adjust heat so it is between 165° and 180°F (very few bubbles will break the surface but there should be steam coming from the surface). Poach salmon, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain the proper temperature, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest section registers 130°F (fish will continue cooking off heat). You can also test by inserting a knife into the flesh along the backbone; the flesh should still be slightly translucent and offer little resistance. The cooking time should be about 5 minutes per inch of thickness (once liquid has reached a simmer). Remove poacher from heat and allow it to cool until you no longer see any steam, about 1 hour. Lift the rack with the salmon from the poacher and set it over a large pan (or the sink) to allow the salmon to drain until just cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare fish for serving Transfer salmon to a clean work surface. Use your fingers and a paring knife to pull and scrape off the skin from the top side of the fish. Use the back of the knife to scrape off any brown areas from the surface. Using two large spatulas, carefully slide the salmon onto a serving platter. At this point, the salmon can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
• Serve Slice the cucumber lengthwise into very thin strips. Arrange the strips diagonally across salmon, spacing them about 1 inch apart, and tuck the ends underneath so they appear to wrap around the fish. Garnish with watercress. Separate into pieces and serve sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
• The salmon is garnished with a mixture of watercress and Upland cress (a member of the mustard family with a sharp, spicy flavor), which are also used in the accompanying sauce. You can find Upland cress (also called English cress or garden cress) at farmers' markets, or use all watercress instead.
• A poacher is just the right size and shape for cooking a large whole fish, such as the salmon in this recipe. For smaller whole fish, a roasting pan fitted with a wire rack can be used instead.
• To make the paper-thin strips of cucumber that appear to wrap around the fish, a mandoline is the best tool. A Japanese-style mandoline, such as Benriner, is inexpensive and sold at most kitchen supply shops. A vegetable peeler can be used instead, but it will not be able to produce the same uniform thickness as the mandoline.
• Peel and finely chop 1 English cucumber, then toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt and 1 tablespoon each Champagne vinegar and small (nonpareil) capers that have been rinsed and drained. Set aside for 5 minutes, then stir in 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup finely chopped cress (use half watercress and half Upland cress, if you can find it). Season with freshly ground pepper and more salt. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

Steps:

• Blend cucumbers, watercress leaves, lime and lime juice with sour cream. Season with salt and Tabasco sauce.

Steps:

• Toss together cucumber, vinegar, capers, and salt in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream and cress; season with pepper. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, up to 4 hours.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together butter, paprika, salt, and pepper. Use immediately, or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 week.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, onion, and salt. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour.
• Drain well.
• Combine cream, vinegar, salt and pepper, add to cucumber/onion mixture, and stir.
• Chill several hours before serving.

Steps:

• Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Season marinade with salt and pepper.
• Combine 1/2 cup marinade, cucumber and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl; season salsa with salt and pepper. Let stand 30 minutes; toss occasionally.
• Spray barbecue rack with nonstick spray and prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place salmon, skin side down, in large glass baking dish. Top with remaining marinade. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• To grill salmon using fish basket:
• Spray basket with nonstick spray. Place salmon in fish basket, folding tail under if fish is too long. Place basket on barbecue and grill salmon, skin side up, 5 minutes. Turn basket over; grill salmon until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes longer. Turn salmon out onto platter.
• To grill salmon without using a basket:
• Spray rimless baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place salmon, skin side up, on sheet. Spray skin with nonstick spray. Slide salmon, skin side up, onto barbecue. Grill 5 minutes. Stand blade of large spatula at 1 long side of salmon to hold in place. From opposite side, slide rimless baking sheet completely under salmon. Hold salmon with spatula; turn sheet and salmon over, releasing salmon, skin side down, onto barbecue. Grill salmon until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes longer. Slide baking sheet under salmon; transfer fish to platter. Serve with salsa.