Chef Jeff’s Salmon Sashimi

Private Chef Jeff Nappe, based out of New Jersey, curates beautiful elegant dishes. Using techniques and ingredients used in different cultures such as Indian, Norwegian and Japanese. Understanding textural, visual and taste appeal, you can count on New Jersey Resident & Chef, Jeff, to create your new favorite dish.

There are so many ways to enjoy salmon, but eating it raw has such a delicious taste and nourishing feel to it. Add the pine needle yogurt with hibiscus syrup and you wind up with a plate of salmon sashimi meeting refreshing Norwegian flavors. Not to mention pairing vibrant green with deep red provides a show stopping pop of color.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Sushi grade salmon, 1 lb.

Pine needle yogurt

Plain yogurt, 2 c

Pine needle oil, 4 drops

Thyme, 1 tbsp

Parsley, for blanching, 1/2 c

Sugar, 1 tbsp

Xanathan gum, 1 tsp

Salt, 1 tsp

Hibiscus syrup

Dried hibiscus, 1 c

Rhubarb, pureed, 2 tbsp

Sugar, 1/2 c

Water, 1 c

Red beet, 1

Vanilla extract, 2 tsp

Sauvignon blanc, 1/2 c

Salt, 1 tsp

Herb salad

Arugula, 1 c

Watercress, 1 c

Celery leaves, 1 c

Honeydew, melon-balled, 1/2

Cantaloupe, melon-balled, 1/2

Blueberries, 1/2 c

Blackberries, 1 c

Strawberries, 1 c

Pistachio, roasted, 1/2 c

Evoo, 2 tbsp

Salt, 1 tsp

Procedure:

1-For the pine needle yogurt bring a small pot of salted water brought to a boil. Drop in parsley for 30 seconds to blanch and put right into a bowl of ice water. Take parsley along with 1/2 c water and puree until smooth in a vitamix. Put mixture into small saucepan and reduce until it is a green paste.
Put 2 c of plain yogurt, 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp xanathan gum, and reduced parsley “paste’ on high in a vitamix. Puree until smooth, mixture will be loosened slightly.
Pour yogurt mixture into bowl, add 4 drops pine needle oil and 3-4 drops of green food coloring. Whisk gently until it is all combined and the shade of green you want is achieved. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour.
For the hibiscus syrup, combine 1/2 c water and 1/2 c sugar in a small saucepan, stir and reduce on medium high heat until a simple syrup is formed. Pour simple syrup into vitamix along with 1 c dried hibiscus and 2 tbsp rhubarb puree.. Puree until smooth, return mixture to pan on low medium heat. Add 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 c sauvignon blanc, 1 tsp salt. Stir.
Peel skin off of 1 red beet, chop into a few pieces and drop into the vitamix with 1/2 c of water. Puree on high until smooth and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the hibiscus syrup and gently combine. Allow the entire mixture to reduce up to 30 minutes on low medium. Once thickened shut off the heat and leave on a warm burner, it will be served at room temperature anyway.
Roast 1/2 c pistachios on parchment paper in the oven at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Let cool.
For the herb salad, put 1 c arugula, 1 c watercress, 1 c celery leaves, melon balled honeydew and cantaloupe (8 pc each), 1/2 c blueberries, 1/2 c blackberries, 1 c strawberries, and 1/2 c roasted pistachio into large mixing bowl. Gently toss all the ingredients together just barely coating everything in evoo and salt.
For plating, place large handful of salad, fruit, and nuts in the center of the plate or bowl. Two tbsp pine-thyme yogurt drizzled on salad. Next, take 2 tbsp hibiscus syrup and drizzle on salad and yogurt. Place 5 pieces of salmon sashimi (coated with evoo and pinch of salt) on top of salad and sauces. Serve immediately.

Note-You can swap out salmon sashimi for roasted salmon if that’s what you desire. I recommend to still use sushi grade salmon if you have access to that so you can cook it a bit under and retain a ton of juiciness. You wont be able to cook or bake non-sushi grade salmon on the rare side. Also, using the right smoked salmon, with minimal sodium, is also ideal for this dish if you want to swap out the sushi grade salmon for another variety.

This recipe is just one of the many recipes that can be found in Chef Jeff Nappe’s book, Tastings, which can be found on Amazon or by clicking the link below.