Here is a great recipe for your New Year’s Eve celebration, or any other celebration for that matter! This is a recipe adapted from Eric Ripert, who is the chef of the very respected restaurant, Le Bernardin, where he specializes in fish dishes. This is the perfect appetizer for a festive evening, and a glass of bubbly would pair perfectly with it. I use water to poach the salmon, but you could easily use white wine, for which the original recipe calls for. When I used wine to poach the fish, I didn’t feel it imparted a lot of flavor, and thought that instead it would be nicer to drink the wine with the salmon! Use wild salmon of course, and I also suggest trying to find a mayo that is made from avocado oil, a healthy oil. Most mayo is made with soybean oil, which I don’t suggest.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups water or white wine
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 pound fresh salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 ounces smoked salmon, diced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chive
½ cup mayonnaise, preferably avocado oil mayo (Chosen brand is good)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a shallow pan, bring the water or white wine and shallots to a boil. When the shallots are cooked, add the salmon and gently poach the salmon until it is just barely opaque. Remove the salmon from the water or wine and immediately drain on a towel-lined sheet pan. Strain the wine, reserving the shallots. Place the salmon and shallots in the refrigerator to cool.
Combine the poached salmon and shallots in a mixing bowl with the smoked salmon, chives and some of the mayonnaise and lemon juice—use the mayonnaise and lemon juice sparingly to begin, and adjust to taste. Mix the rillette—do not over-mix or mix too hard. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve cold with whole grain crackers or endive leaves.
