Recipe of the week: Potato-wrapped salmon with ham hock broth, cipollini onions, dried cherries and lovage

Salmon, wrapped in thin slices of potato and caramelized in a hot saute pan, is a visually stunning presentation. For complexity and depth of flavor, I serve it with a smoky ham hock broth, thickened to a light sauce consistency. Then I rest it simply on a bed of Brussels sprouts with Cipollini onions and dried cherries. Serves 6.

Ingredients

Ham hock broth

2 pork shanks
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 tbs clarified butter
2 big feed
2 ham hocks
1 chopped parsnip
1 chopped celery rib
3 chopped shallots
6 chopped garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 bottles Sauvignon Blanc
5 chopped mushrooms
2 qts chicken stock
Red wine vinegar

Salmon

1 gal. water
1 c brown sugar
1 c kosher salt
6 fillets of wild salmon, about 5 oz each, skin removed
2 baking potatoes
3 tbs vegetable oil

Brussels sprout salad

4 cipollini onions
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
5 Brussels sprouts
¼ c dried cherries
3 tbs thinly sliced lovage

Directions

Ham hock broth

Dust the pork shanks in flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer to a hot saute pan coated in 2 tablespoons of clarified butter. Caramelize the pork on all sides, 5 minutes total. Add the remaining ingredients, minus the stock an dvinegar, and reduce by half.

Add the chicken stock and simmer over low heat for 2 hours or until the shanks are cooked through and falling off the bone. Remove the shanks and save for another use. Strain the stock and return the liquid to the pot. Reduce by one third over medium heat. Season to taste with red wine vinegar. Meanwhile, pull the meat from the smoked ham hocks and reserve.

Salmon

Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate the brine for 2 hours or until completely cool.

Add the salmon to the brine and continue to refrigerate for 4 hours. Remove the salmon from the brine and smoke for 1 hour in a cold smoker with apple wood. Make sure the temperature of the box never exceeds 100 degrees.)

Peel the potatoes and spin on a rotating mandolin. Blanch in salted boiling water and shock in an ice bath.

Carefully wrap each salmon fillet with the potato strings. Shallow-fry in a small saute pan with 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, or until the potatoes are crispy and the salmon is cooked medium.

Brussels sprout salad

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the onions and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until tender. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and separate the leaves. Combine in a sauce pot with the dried cherries, lovage, Cipollini onions, and reserved ham hock meat. Heat until the Brussels sprouts are cooked through.

To serve

Ladle one cup of broth into each serving bowl. Place some of the Brussels sprout salad in the center of each bowl. Slice the ends off the salmon and place on top.

Thank you to Todd Kelly, Executive Chef at Orchids at Palm Court in Cincinnati, OH, for the recipe.

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