Salmon with Ruby Red Beurre Blanc
Grilled Salmon with Ruby Red Beurre Blanc
Sauteed Spinach and Steamed Nishiki Rice
Katherine making her first beurre blanc at age 3.
(you can do it! Don't be afraid!)
One of the best things about winter is citrus. I love all kinds: lemons, tangerines, limes but most of all grapefruit! I could eat grapefruit everyday. I've loved it since I was a little girl. In California we can get most citrus all year long, but somehow the winter months when citrus is at its best. It tastes like sunshine.
I'm not sure who first invented the grapefruit beurre blanc. I think it may have been Patrick O'Connell from The Inn at Little Washington. Then like all good creations in food, they are copied and replicated all over the country. One of the first versions I had was in Georgia and it was a special on a restaurant menu for the winter. It was heavenly and was made with Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice. Truly addictively delicious. So this is my version of that dish.
Now if for some reason you think a beurre blanc may be hard, I'm here to tell you that it is not! I've posted a picture of Katherine making her first buerre blanc at age 3. The secret is to keep the heat low when you are whisking in the butter and to whisk the butter in tablespoon by tablespoon. If the butter just melts instead of emulsified the sauce will just taste like melted butter instead of tangy creamy luxury. Later I'll need to put up a basic beurre blanc recipe because I've made all kinds from Thai Chili Beurre Blanc to Ginger Beurre Blanc to Beurre Rouge (with red wine.)
I usually serve the salmon with rice or mashed potatoes. Both are equally good. I also serve it with sauteed spinach. If you have company coming or if I'm doing this for a catered event, I cut the stems off the spinach. If is just my family, I cook it with the stems. For the spinach: get the largest frying pan you have and get it nice and hot. put in a tablespoon or olive oil or two and then put a heaping amount of spinach into the pan. It is going to wilt and shrink and look like nothing. So you need a lot of spinach! Sprinkle the spinach with a little salt while it is sautéing.
For the Salmon: Coat it with olive oil, sprinkle it with kosher salt and grill it on high. (High heat is the secret to moist fish! If you have it on medium or low it is going to be dry and taste completely different.) If you don't like grilling then just sear it in a hot pan for about 2-3 minutes per side.
The beurre blanc will take the longest so start it first. Then turn on your grill. Then start the rice. Cook the fish near the very end. Turn off the sauce while you are cooking the fish. Saute the spinach whenever you want. It sautes very quickly so you can do it at the last minute. It also holds nicely so you can do it ahead if you want to.
Ruby Red Beurre Blanc
Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, 1 cup
White Wine or Rose 1 cup
Rice Wine Vinegar, 1/4 cup
Minced Shallot or Yellow Onion, 1 tablespoon
Heavy Cream, 1/2 cup
Unsalted butter, 2 sticks (1 cup) cut into 16 tablespoons
Pinch of Sea Salt
To a saucepan add the grapefruit juice, white wine, rice vinegar and shallot or onion. Cook over medium heat until the liquid reduces (cooks down) by 3/4 or 75 percent. Add the heavy cream and reduce by half.
Turn heat to low or alternate turning heat off and then back on to low as you whisk in the butter. Whisk in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Whisk constantly. Add a pinch of salt at the end. Keep on low heat or in a warm spot and whisk again if necessary before serving.
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