Cold-Poached Salmon With Shaved Fennel & Apple Salad
Rob Albrecht personal chef and owner of Cloud Catcher Bay Gourmet, says his clients love this salmon dish.
Poaching Broth
½ cup chopped yellow onion
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped Granny Smith apple
½ cup chopped leeks
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 quarts water
1/3 cup fresh tarragon leaves
1½ pounds salmon fillet, skinned, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Salad
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and pepper
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
To prepare the poaching broth: Place the onion, carrot, celery, apple, leeks, peppercorns, bay leaves, and water in a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes. Add the tarragon and continue to cook for three minutes. Strain the mixture, discarding the solids, and return the broth to the saucepan. Bring the broth to a simmer over medium-low heat.
To prepare the salmon: Place salmon in a shallow pan and pour in the warm broth. Let stand for two minutes, turn the salmon over, and let it stand for three to five minutes, or until the salmon is cooked medium. Remove the salmon from the liquid and season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk together the lemon juice, tarragon, and olive and canola oils in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To prepare the salad: Combine the apple and fennel in a bowl. Toss with ½ cup of the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Spoon some of the salad in the center of each plate and top with two pieces of the salmon. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the salmon and around the plates. Serves 4.
"Palate-specific" personal meals are now available for busy families and business executives from Cloud Catcher Bay Gourmet, a customized in-home personal chef service.
Owner and operator Rob Albrecht prepares the personal meals, cooked with fresh ingredients, in private homes.
"With so many households where people are working, meal planning and preparation becomes an extra burden," Albrecht said in a press release. "Frozen entrees and take-out food, while convenient, are loaded with salt and preservatives. You may save preparation time but your family's health and well-being suffers in the long run."
Clients Connie Bookman, a small business owner, and her partner, Stan Lloyd, said Catcher Bay Gourmet is the perfect service for them.
"It gives us precious time together at the end of a busy day," Bookman said in a press release. "No shopping, no cooking, no cleaning up."
"When we add up the food and restaurant bills, we realize we aren't spending any more than we did before ... but we're eating like kings," Lloyd said.
Albrecht meets with each client to determine their specific dietary needs, the menus are created and then a cooking day is selected.
"I shop for all the food, come into the client's home every other week and cook about 10 meals," Albrecht said. "Then I fresh freeze or refrigerate them and clean everything up."
Bellingham resident Rob Albrecht, 37, has a bachelor degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota but it's the kitchen that has captured his heart.
Self-taught, he spent one year providing personal chef services for family and friends before launching Cloud Catcher Bay Gourmet last summer. As a personal chef, Albrecht prepares meals for his clients in their homes. All they do is heat and eat.
Albrecht spoke with The Herald recently about his two children, boys ages 13 and 9, his garden (a small orchard with apple, cherry and plum trees, along with raised beds of fruits and vegetables) and a few of his favorite things.
Favorite cookbook: Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," volumes one and two.
Favorite summer drink: Boundary Bay blonde (beer).
Favorite comfort food: Braised lamb shank.
Secret to good cooking: Good ingredients - fresh, local, organic.
Where do you eat out? For nights, I really like Nimbus. For lunch, Bandito's Burritos, it's a great deal.
Favorite kitchen tool? I just got a pressure cooker that I'm really into.
Inspiration: My kids and my garden. Just going out to the garden and just being in the garden inspires me.
Worst kitchen disaster: When I was probably 16 I lived in a log house with my sister. I was making French fries and the oil burst into flames. I brought it to the sink and turned the water on, which spread it everywhere. My sister ran in and threw flour on it.
What did you learn from it? Not to put water on a grease fire. I'm cooking for a guy who did the same thing and burned down his house.
Reach Kie Relyea at 715-2234 or kie.relyea@bellingham herald.com.
