Day 82: divinely fragrant
It’s the same story every time: you take a few days off and then spend a considerably longer amount of time trying to play catch-up with yourself. Luckily, I am more than happy to play that game when it comes to this cookalong. I didn’t have the usual backlog of blog entries to catch up on: instead, it was back into the kitchen tonight and then straight on here to write it up (not like the usual day or two I give myself after each dish). Whilst it is, of course, fine to take a few days off (guilt-free), I don’t want to become too relaxed or my social media will just end up as a feed filled with ‘throwbacks’. And that Novemeber 2022 finish line would find itself somewhere in the middle of 2023, or beyond. NOT that I have any issue stretching this cookalong out for as long as possible(!), but I fear you’ll tire of me long before the 365th day (if you haven’t already) if I become too slack.
What better welcome back to the kitchen could I have asked for than cooking Nigella’s divinely fragrant Tarragon Salmon!
Nigella’s Tarragon Salmon
I know I don’t need to keep reiterating how much I adore tarragon, but I do adore tarragon. I love its anise fragrance and cooling, tongue-numbing magic (found in French Tarragon). I appreciate it can be overpowering if you’re not keen on the anise flavour spectrum as a whole (like hubby), so I tend to match it with strong flavours where possible: like smoked salmon as I did today, or smoked bacon/chicken if using it to flavour a creamy pie filling. Tarragon and cream are a marriage made in heaven - much the same as anchovies and cream I guess. Although, to be honest, I think it’s safe to assume that cream is an all-around jolly good date for any ingredient out there!
I actually ran out of dry vermouth [audible gasp], so I had to make up the other half with sake - although different in flavour, I guess they are both quite herbal in scent and are both a type of fortified wine. White wine would have been fine too, I’m sure, but I didn’t have any of that either.
I believe that tongue-numbing magic is due to the presence of a compound called eugenol (a natural anaesthetic), which is also found in cloves, bay, basil, and nutmeg: its effect more potent when eaten raw (I find anyway). I often chew on the leaves or stem of fresh tarragon whilst I’m cooking with it as I do so enjoy that cool, anise tingle.
Flavour musings
After a very long day in the office, Nigella’s Tarragon Salmon was the perfectly appropriate choice of supper tonight. It took five minutes to get from raw to ready (two minutes either side for the salmon plus a minute for the cream to sizzle and thicken a little), which was just enough time to cook the fine green beans to serve alongside tossed through with lemon zest, garlic, a little butter and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.
I did increase the tarragon quantities (you know why) but the light smokiness of the coral-pink salmon was easily capable of carrying of it. The fillets were about 20-30 grams smaller than a regular fillet-for-one, so the two-minute-a-side approach worked great for my preferences: beautifully tender with just a slight sushi-coral.
