Are you crazy about seafood? If yes, this recipe will be nothing short of a culinary art for you. When done properly, this recipe with its peculiar flavors and unsurpassed delicate texture will emerge as the personification of exquisite yet fresh flavors. Try the following recipe to find out why they say that delicious food is one of the biggest joys known to mankind.
Recipe
This recipe serves 8. The cooking time is 1 hour, 45 minutes and the preparation time is 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Ingredients Quantity
Shrimps (shelled) 28
Salt ¼ teaspoon
Unsalted butter 6 tablespoons
Cognac 2 tablespoons
Water 2 tablespoons
Salmon fillet 8
Black truffles 1 pound
White wine 2 cups
Chablis (white wine) 1 ½ cups
Finely chopped Shallot 1/3 cup
Heavy cream 1 1.2 cups
Arrowroot 1 teaspoon
Cognac 2 teaspoons
Salt ½ teaspoon
White pepper 1/8 teaspoon
Instructions
Take scissors and use them to cut the shell of each shrimp lengthwise. Make sure that you leave the last segment of the shell as it is. Devein the shrimp while making sure that the shell remains in its place. Wash shrimps thoroughly and pat them dry. Sprinkle salt on them.
Now take a non-stick pan and add butter to it. Heat it over moderate flame so that the foam subsides. Fry the shrimps in butter turning them once or twice. Just make sure they are thoroughly cooked through. This will take around 3 minutes. Put a sieve over the bowl and transfer the shrimps coated with butter to it. When the shrimps are cold enough to handle, remove the shells. Keep the shells and butter aside. Chill the unshelled shrimps. Cover them until they are ready to be used.
Take a pan and add the reserved shells and butter to it. Cook till the butter melts and transfer it to a food processor with water and cognac. Grind for two minute so as to form a puree. Use a mixture and strain it through a colander in a bowl. Discard all the solids and chill the shrimp butter.
Curl the slices of salmon into a circle so that the skinned sides are inside. Use strings to retain the shape.
Shaves 48 strips from truffles and shred the remaining. Reserve the liquid in case you are using preserved ones.
Make 6 slits on salmon slices evenly with the tip of a knife. Insert a slice of truffle into every slit. Use salt to season the salmon and chill it on a tray. Use plastic to wrap it so that it is ready to be poached.
Take a sauce and fry shallots and Chablis in it such that the wine is reduced to ¼ cup in 15 minutes. Next add cream and fry. Force the mixture through a sieve discarding the shallots. Add truffle juice and minced truffles and fry so that sauce is reduced to 1 ¼ cups in around 5 minutes. Mix cognac and arrowroot into the sauce. Mix continuously until the sauce thickens. This will take about 2 minutes. Sprinkle pepper and salt.
Take a saucepan and use butter to coat its bottom. Add salmon, wine and water enough to cover the fish. Cover with wax or butter paper. Make the water boil at moderate heat. Reduce heat and poach while the mixture simmers and the fish is thoroughly cooked. This will take 10 minutes. Transfer the fish to a plate and remove its strings.
In the meanwhile, take a pan and add shrimps and sauce to it and make it simmer over moderate flame. Add shrimp butter and whisk it. Use pepper and salt for seasoning. Serve with poached salmon.