Salmon Piccata

By Executive Chef Elijah Kitka, Slippery Salmon Bar & Grill

Single Serving

Ingredients:
6 oz red salmon fillet, pin bones out and skin removed
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
1 fl oz clarified butter
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tbsp capers
¼ cup white wine (Chardonnay)
1 lemon
2 tbsp chilled butter
1 ½ cup cooked pasta

Start by mixing the flour, salt and pepper together on a plate. Cut the lemon in half the short way and remove the peel from one half with a paring knife. Be sure to only take the yellowpart of the peel and set aside. Next put the clarified butter in an 8-inch sauté pan and put it to high heat. Coat the salmon on both sides, hold it up and tap it to let the excess flour mixture fall away. Place the coated salmon face down in the already hot pan; it is a good idea to use a pan screen so the oil doesn’t get everywhere.

Cook until the flour just starts to brown and flip it over face-side up. Add the capers and shallots to the pan and cook until the shallots are translucent. Add your white wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown spots off the pan and mix it into a pan sauce around the salmon. Add lemon juice and cook until the sauce has reduced to become slightly thick (2- to 3-min. approximately).

Reduce heat, remove the salmon and place it on a plate with warm pasta, the other lemon half and the twisted peel as garnish (you can twist the peel tightly and mix it with the pasta to have a nice zesty flavor). Add your chilled butter to the pan and mix it around to allow it to emulsify with the sauce; remove the pan from the heat once the butter is half melted and continue to stir until it’s a smooth sauce. Pour your sauce over the salmon and pasta with the capers and shallots falling all over the plate.