King salmon recipe

Ingredients

• 4 (4-ounce) fillets king salmon, or other wild Alaskan salmon
• 8 thin slices prosciutto (3–4 ounces total)
• Kosher salt

• 1½ cups Koshihikari rice or other short-grained sushi rice
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) water (add 2 more tablespoons of water if cooking at Santa Fe’s 7,000-foot altitude)
• ½ cup (4 ounces) sake, or additional water
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) mirin
• 1 quarter-size slice fresh ginger
• 1 fresh lemongrass stalk, crushed lightly
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2–3 tablespoons Eden brand Shake (a mixture of sesame seeds and nori seaweed), or 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds and 2 tablespoons nori, cut in small bits
• 3 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) apple cider
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 grated lemon juice and zest
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper

• ¼ cup (2 ounces) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
• Large sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
• Tarragon leaves and pea shoots, or radish sprouts, purple or green basil sprigs, pok choi leaves, or some combination of these, for the finished dish
• Chopped fresh chives, for the finished dish

To Start the Salmon Preparation
1. Place a 12-inch square of plastic wrap on a working surface.
2. Lay out 2 slightly overlapping slices of the prosciutto on the plastic. The width of the 2 slices should be nearly the same as your salmon fillet.
3. Place a fillet at one of the narrow ends of the prosciutto, salt it very lightly (since the prosciutto is salty too), and roll the prosciutto up around it snugly.
4. Tightly wrap in the plastic wrap, rolling it back and forth to make a log. Repeat with the same ingredients. Refrigerate the logs about 30 minutes.
To Prepare the Rice
5. Combine the rice, water, sake, rice vinegar, mirin, ginger, lemongrass, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low and cook for 14–16 minutes, or until no steam is escaping from under the lid.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and let the rice sit covered for another 5–10 minutes. Alternatively, combine the same ingredients in a rice cooker, and cook according to the rice cooker’s directions.
7. Lightly mix in the sesame seeds and nori. Cover the pan again to keep the rice warm. Remove the ginger slice and lemongrass before serving.
To Prepare the Sabayon
8. While the rice is cooking, prepare the sabayon. Combine the egg yolks and cider in the top of the double boiler. Place the top over the simmering pan of water and whisk the yolks and cider for 1 ½ minutes, until just warmed through, frothy, and several shades lighter yellow.
9. Take the top off the heat, and begin to whisk in the melted butter slowly and steadily until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
10. Pour in the lemon juice slowly, while still whisking, and add the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Reserve at room temperature.
To Cook the Salmon Logs
11. Warm the olive oil in a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. Sauté the salmon logs on all sides, cooking for 6– 7 minutes total, until the prosciutto is crisp and just a bit of translucence remains at the center of each fillet. (You can make a small cut with a thin knife to check.)
12. Turn off the heat, add the butter, thyme, and rosemary to the pan and, as the butter melts, baste the salmon with the pan juices for 20 seconds. Tilt the pan as needed to have enough buttery pan juices to spoon. Transfer the fish to paper towels and drain.
Putting it all Together
13. To one side of each of 4 plates, spoon out rice in something of a line. Cut each salmon fillet in half, trimming off the ends too, just a bit, if uneven. Stand the salmon pieces alongside the rice. Spoon a portion of the sabayon around each plate, pooling some of it in the center of each. Serve right away.