The Knowledge of Salmon

Since this blog overtook Nigella Lawson (google "bacon pavlova", preferably from my google account) I've decided to scale back on the minutiae of my kitchen. Thus Thursday's spaghetti carbonara, despite being photographed, and including the heretical notion of cooking pasta in other than a giant pan at a  rolling boil
Similarly,
Friday's veg+tinned salmon+gram flour fritters miss out. Though those babies are a bit of staple Chez Cattanach and are probably more worthy of a post than lobster ravioli.

Back to the salmon. Allegedly peasants of the 19th century used to revolt amongst other things at being fed too much salmon (similar stories exist regarding lobsters and oysters in America). Then salmon became scarce and thus desirable before being farmed and ubiquitous.

The problem with farmed salmon is it is yuck -flabby and luridly coloured. Meantime, wild salmon has become practically unobtainable.
Luckily for the committed pescavore Clare Island organic salmon is available from Kish Fish in Coolock and that fishmonger guy at Temple  Bar market.
Now it`s not cheap, nor sustainable for a farmed carnivorous fish, but it is damned tasty.
Without further ado, here are the salmon darnes baked in tinfoil with butter, fennel leaves, lemon slice and a splash of good Reisling. Served with Vichy carrots (butter, sugar and rosemary, cut on the bias - Harold McGee, does the bias cut *really* matter?). And potatoes served "as gaeligae"