EverGreen Farm Recipes

Freezing Herbs

If you ever find yourself with "extra" herbs and don't want them to go to waste, I have a helpful hint for freezing them.  This tip works especially well with parsley and cilantro.  Just place the herb in a blender  (stems can be removed first if you desire) and puree with as little water as necessary to get the leaves to chop.  Then pour the mixture into ice cube trays.  Once solid, the herb cubes can be frozen in a freezer bag and used as needed.  The herb's true flavor is maintained incredibly well, it smells and tastes so fresh.  Just pop a cube into a soup, mashed potatoes, spaghetti sauce, or whatever.  Or you can put a cube in a strainer and allow the water to melt off, then add the herb to your cooking.

Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce and New Potatoes

Salmon

6 salmon steaks (6 oz. each)
2 cups dry white wine
2-3 cups of water
1 bay leaf
Bouquet of fresh tarragon, dill, and parsley sprigs (tied with a kitchen string)

Dill Sauce and Garnish

2 cups of sour cream
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp dry tarragon
1/2 tsp dry parsley
6 slices of pumpernickel bread
1 bundle of fresh watercress, washed and trimmed
1/2 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced

Potatoes

2 pounds small red-skinned new potatoes
Coarse salt
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp brown sugar

Place new potatoes in a pot, cover with water, cover with lid, and bring to a boil. Add a few pinches of coarse salt, reduce heat to medium, and boil covered (about 12 minutes).

Place salmon steaks in a large skillet. Pour wine and water into the pan so that just the very top of the salmon is exposed. Add a bay leaf and the bouquets of dill, tarragon, and parsley on top of the liquid. Heat on high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cover the pan. Poach the salmon for 10 minutes, or until the meat is firm but opaque.

To make the dill sauce, combine sour cream, Dijon mustard, chopped dill, tarragon, and parsley in a bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Drain potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Add butter and turn potatoes to coat them lightly. Sprinkle them with mint and sugar.

Remove the salmon form the cooking liquid with a spatula. To serve, place a piece of salmon on each plate and garnish with dill sauce. Place pumpernickel squares, watercress, and sliced cucumber alongside salmon. Add new potatoes to the dish and serve.