Poached Salmon with Dilled Fettuccine and Lime Butter Sauce

Here's another light fish recipe that can be done, start to finish, in less than thirty minutes. Well, not counting the pasta, but that's really more like playing with your food than cooking, isn't it? We really like the colors in this dish; the pink salmon on a bed of speckled green pasta surrounded by the bright yellow butter sauce, and topped with a lime green garnish. And the tastes seem to match the pastel colors perfectly; subtle poached salmon, herby pasta, and vibrant, rich lime butter sauce.


Salmon:
1 Pound fresh Salmon filet, skin on
1 bay leaf
1 Tbl black peppercorns
1 Pinch sea salt
1/4 Cup white wine
Put the wine, bay leaf, salt, and peppercorns in a small skillet and add enough water to bring the liquid level to about one inch. Rinse the salmon filet and pat dry, then place it, skin side down, into the pan and bring to a rolling simmer. Put a lid on the skillet and cook until the salmon flakes with a fork, about 8-10 minutes. Divide the filet in half to check for proper doneness (I like my salmon cooked all the way through, but if you prefer it rare go for it). When done, remove fish and place skin side up on a doubled paper towel. The skin (and scales) can be easily removed with a fork. Also scrape off and discard the dark meat just under the skin as this adds a slight fishy taste.
Pasta:
1/2 Cup semolina flour
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
Dash sea salt
1 Tbl olive oil
3 Tbl finely chopped dill weed
This is my favorite basic pasta recipe, but if you have a different one that works for you just add the dill to the dry ingredients before adding the eggs and stuff. Make sure the dill is chopped fine and that all the bigger stems have been removed, otherwise the pasta will tear when passed through the higher settings. You can also used dried dill weed if you need to. Mix the flours with the dill weed then add the eggs, salt, and oil to form a soft dough, adding a few drops of water if necessary. Let the dough rest, covered with a damp cloth while you set up the pasta machine. Run half the dough through the machine at its lowest setting (usually 1), fold in half and repeat at least ten times. At this point, the dough should be smooth and uniform in texture. Increase to setting number two and pass the dough through the machine. Do not fold in half again. Increase the setting again and continue until reaching setting #6. Finally, use the pasta cutter attachment to cut wide fettuccini (or linguine) noodles and place on a dry towel. Repeat the whole process with the other half of the dough. When ready, cook the pasta in vigorously boiling, salted water with a few drops of good olive oil added. Fresh pasta will cook quickly, two or three minutes is all you need.
Sauce:
2 large egg yolks
1/4 lb (one stick) unsalted butter, melted but not hot
Juice of half a lime
Pinch of sea salt
Put the egg yolks and a couple drops of water in a small glass or metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Placing the bowl in a metal strainer seems to work well, although a traditional double boiler doesn't seem to do the trick. Whisk the egg yolks over the heat until they are bright yellow, thick and smooth. You may have to remove from the heat periodically to prevent scrambling. Drizzle in the melted butter (if it's too hot it will cook the eggs and become lumpy) into the egg yolks and continue whisking. Finally, add the lime juice and salt to taste. If the sauce cools too much before serving, it may become too thick. Just put it back over the steaming water for a few seconds and whisk it back to life.

Serves: 2.