Involtini di Salmone (Stuffed Salmon Rolls)
Chef Gabriele deftly cuts and butterflies his own salmon scallopini right off the fillet. If you wish to try this simple technique, you will need 3 or 4 eight-ounce salmon fillets. because the fillet tends to get smaller from front to back. You can poach or grill the leftover pieces for a variety of dishes: top a mesclun salad, make a sourdough salmon sandwich, or stir fry salmon scraps with red bell pepper strips, snow peas, chopped red onion and sliced water chestnuts. Or, you could simply ask your fish market to prepare 12 one-ounce (or slightly larger) butterflied fresh salmon scallopini. The lemon-infused olive oil used throughout the recipe is available in bottles at gourmet markets. Or you could add a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice to the saute pan.
Ingredients
- Tomato Coulis (recipe follows)
- Shellfish Stuffing (recipe follows)
- Asparagus spears - 32 trimmed
- Salmon fillet - twelve, 1- to 1-1/2 ounce slices, butterflied
- Flour - for dusting
- Lemon-infused extra virgin olive oil, - as needed
- Edible Flowers - optional
- Tomato Coulis
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Yellow Onion - 1 medium-to-large, peeled and chopped
- Fresh Roma Tomatoes - 10, peeled (see Cooking Basics)
- Garlic Cloves - 6 large, peeled
- Fresh Basil Leaves - 12
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Shellfish Stuffing
- Lemon-infused extra virgin olive oil - as needed
- Carrots - 1 cup, diced peeled
- Celery - 1 cup, diced
- Capers - 4 tablespoons, drained
- Shallots - 1 tablespoon, diced
- Alaskan King - 1 cup (about 8 ounces) frozen, thawed, drained
- Crab Fancy meat - chopped
- Scallops - 16 jumbo, chopped
- Dry Sherry - 1/2 cup
- Mascarpone Cheese - 1/4 cup
- Parmesan Reggiano cheese - 1/4 cup, grated
- Romano cheese - 1/4 cup, grated
- Bread Crumbs - 1/4 cup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
First make Tomato Coulis (recipe below). Then prepare Shellfish Stuffing (recipe below). Cook trimmed asparagus spears in boiling salted water until just cooked through, 4 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the spear. Then drain in a colander and rinse with ice-cold water to stop cooking and set color. Lay asparagus on paper toweling to dry.
Check salmon slices for pin bones, remove any with a needle-nose pliers. Place butterflied salmon slices between two sheets of plastic film and flatten gently and uniformly with the flat side of a cleaver or meat mallet. Remove top plastic film and discard. Place 1 ounce, about 2 tablespoons, of the stuffing in the center of each scallopini. Using the bottom plastic film to start, lift one end and begin to roll scallopini, peeling away plastic as you roll.
Dust salmon rolls lightly with flour on all sides. Film the bottom of a skillet with lemon-infused olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Saute salmon rolls, seam side down, until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn over and brown the other side. Repeat until all salmon rolls are browned, working as quickly as possible and adding more olive oil as needed. Transfer browned salmon rolls to a baking sheet and finish in a preheated 350 F oven until stuffing is heated through, about 4 minutes.
To serve: Place Tomato Coulis in a plastic squeeze bottle, testing to ensure that the sauce will come out evenly. Enlarge opening if necessary. On each of four serving plates, make a grid work pattern of tomato coulis. In center, stack 8 asparagus spears, Lincoln-log fashion. Place three salmon
rolls on each plate at 12 o'clock, 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock. Squirt an "S" shape of Tomato Coulis on the top of each salmon roll. If desired, place an edible flour in the center of the asparagus square, and sprinkle the plate with edible flour petals.
Tomato Coulis
In a 2-1/2 quart non-reactive saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent but not browned. Add tomatoes, breaking with a spoon, garlic, basil, and simmer until garlic is cooked and soft and sauce has reduced to desired thickness, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir frequently and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Pass sauce through a food mill placed over a bowl. Return sauce to pan and thicken to desired consistency with 1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste. Simmer to blend flavors. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Shellfish Stuffing
Film the bottom of a large 12-inch saute pan with the lemon-infused olive oil and heat over medium. Add carrots, shallots, celery and capers and saute, stirring, until vegetables are softened but not brown. Add crab meat and saute briefly, stirring. Add scallops, and saute briefly, stirring. Add mascarpone, stir. Add Parmesan and Romano, stir. Thicken with bread crumbs as needed. Heat through, season very lightly to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add chopped dill.
