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Clams, cockles, or mussels can all be steamed open to provide a base for a savory broth you can use to surround sautéed, baked, poached, or grilled salmon fillets. Because the sauce should be made at the last minute, you can bake the salmon fillets instead of sautéing them so you can fuss with the sauce while the salmon is cooking. MAKES
4 MAIN-COURSE SERVING |
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Four
6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets with the skin on or off Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and refrigerate until needed. Rinse the cockles, mussels, or clams. If they're dirty scrub them with a stiff brush. Sort through and discard any dead ones. Clams should be firmly closed; cockles can gape a tiny bit but should close when you jostle them around. It's all right if mussels gape slightly, but they should close when you give them a good pinch. Put the shellfish in a pot with the wine, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cockles take about 4 minutes to open, mussels take about 6 minutes, and clams take closer to 12. Take the shellfish out of their shells-if you like, leave a few in the shell to look pretty in the plates-and slowly pour the cooking liquid into a wide sauté pan with a lid, leaving any grit behind in the pot. Add the cream, shellfish, and parsley to the steaming liquid and reserve. Begin sautéing the salmon (If you're doubled or tripled this recipe, you may want to bake it). While the salmon is cooking, cover the sauté pan and heat over medium to high heat while shaking it back and forth and gently stirring the shellfish with a wooden spoon. Don't let the mixture boil or you'll toughen the shellfish. Arrange the salmon in heated soup plates and spoon the sauce and shellfish over and around. Serve immediately. |
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