Foil Poached Alaska Wild Salmon for a Birthday Buffet!

Foil Poached Alaska Wild Salmon for a Birthday Buffet

Foil Poached Alaska Wild Salmon for a Birthday Buffet!

Last Saturday, the 5th of July was my dad’s birthday, and Hannah (my daughter) and I went up to see him (and mum) for his birthday weekend; it was also very fortuitous that on Saturday morning I received a large package of fresh Alaska wild salmon – perfect for birthday buffet cooking. When it comes to cooking salmon, I am a bit of a purist and I like to cook it simply, such as poach, pan-fry or grill it – I am not a HUGE lover of lots of sauce on salmon, just a simple butter or parsley sauce is fine, or a dollop of mayonnaise when it’s served cold. But, I also like to experiment, and so this time I decided to foil poach it, a method I use a lot for fish, with black pepper, lemon juice and lemon slices…..I popped the wild salmon in squares of tinfoil added some freshly ground pepper over the fillets and then added sliced of lemon and the juice of one lemon between four salmon parcels, simples!  We ate the salmon cold, with mayonnaise as part of my dad’s birthday luncheon buffet, and it was amazingly tasty – soft and flaky with a fresh flavour of the sea, which was enhanced by the black pepper and lemons……along with the perfectly poached Alaska salmon we had Pimm’s Elderflower and Blackberry cocktails, pink fizz, sausage rolls, pork pie, salad, blueberry and cheesecake galette, a white chocolate and redcurrant red velvet cake and a cheeseboard, it was all very refined and the salmon was the star of the plate. So, why is Alaska wild salmon so tasty? Well, unlike farmed salmon it is lower in calories and fat which enhances the taste. It is also fished in a sustainable manner, meaning the fish can breed and stocks are not over-fished to the point of depletion.

5: 2 Diet Low Calorie Artichoke, Egg and Salmon Salad

Since my dad’s birthday I have also enjoyed several more dishes with Alaska salmon as main ingredient, including a new 5:2 diet recipe for Low Calorie Artichoke and Salmon Salad, which I will be sharing soon. (See photo above) Just before I leave, I discovered some very interesting facts about Alaska and its fishing industry; Alaska is fish country. For thousands of years, the fishes of Alaska’s seas and rivers have supported human use, from fisheries used by Alaska’s indigenous Native peoples since prehistoric times, to today’s modern seafood industry……..Alaska is thousands of miles away from large sources of pollution that can contaminate the human food supply in other parts of the world. These distances, combined with the earth’s patterns of circulation of water and air, help to ensure that Alaska’s own waters are among the cleanest in the world…..Alaska’s marine habitats are extremely clean, and Alaska’s seafood is pure and remarkably free of contamination by pesticides, petroleum derivatives, PCBs, metals, and bacteria.. (Alaska Seafood.org)

A SIMPLE & ELEGANT LOW-CALORIE LUNCH: LEMON & HERB POACHED SALMON RECIPE (5:2 DIET)

For more salmon recipes on Lavender and Lovage that would be perfect to use with Alaska Wild Salmon, please pop over to this link:

Lavender and Lovage Salmon Recipes

I still have some salmon in the freezer and I look forward to cooking with them, as one of the benefits of wild salmon as I mentioned before, is that apart from the superior flavour, they are lower in calories than farmed salmon; the texture is also flakier and softer too, as well as the colour being a beautiful, rich, deep “salmon” orange colour, and your heart will be happy with all the omega 3 rich oils in them. That’s all for today, please pop back soon for my 5: 2 Diet Low Calorie Artichoke, Egg and Salmon Salad recipe, as well as some strawberry recipes, more travel notes on Singapore and a two lovely new baking giveaways, have a great weekend, Karen 

NB: Excuse some of the images I have shared, I was sans camera at my parent’s house and some images are from Instagram! 

Disclaimer: “I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network Research Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity”