Saumon au Champagne

We have just returned from a wonderful week vacation in Antibes which is located across the bay from Nice.  It was a spectacular week on the French Riviera.  For me, one of the best parts of the holiday was renting an apartment in the centre of all the action.  The apartment also had a well-appointed kitchen which made cooking a pleasure.  In addition to the kitchen, I found a cookbook entitled "The French Market" and using its guidance and fresh ingredients we enjoyed some great meals.  Hopefully you won't mind another culinary themed blog, as for me this is really becoming one of the main aspects of our experience in France.

Antibes has a wonderful covered market that was a short 5 minute walk from our apartment.  Our first visit to the market was Easter Sunday and it was extremely crowded.  I can't imagine how crowded it must be in the summer as on Sunday the 50 metre walk through the market took around 20 minutes.  Antibes provençal market is a little more upscale than what we are used to and I think that the best example of that were the first cherries of the season.  150 euros per kilo.  Yes thats right 150! Roughly 100 canadian dollars per pound.  I should have asked the proprietor where the cherries originated from, but I was certain that he had been asked the question many times that day from disbelieving shoppers.  Not every stall was as expensive and I managed to find all the ingredients for my favourite recipe from the week:  Saumon au Champagne.

One story that I have recounted many times this year is the presence of the mythical "saumon sauvage" off the shores of British Columbia.  Any of our french friends that dabble in serious cooking are always extremely interested to hear my tales of landing wild salmon off the coasts of Haida Gwaii ( the Queen Charlotte Islands).  As with all fish tales, each time the fish become bigger (the conversion from pounds to kilograms is just so difficult) and the fights lasts longer.  I was surprised to find out that almost all of the fish one sees in the south of France are farmed fish as the Mediterranean has essentially been fished out.

But I do digress, back to Saumon au Champagne.  I have a favourite salmon recipe that involves corn flakes, butter, honey and Dijon mustard but it was great to add a second recipe to my repetoire.

Start by sauteing two shallots in butter until they are soft and then place the salmon filets (not too thick) on the shallots.  Pour 400 ml of champagne into the frying pan, cover and cook for eight minutes.  For the champagne I went to a local wine merchant and at first I balked at the 16 euro price for a 33cl bottle (I thought I would throw in another cultural difference between Canada and France as raise your hand if you know or use the ever useful cl).  I was assured by the owner that a sparkling white would work just as well.

Remove the salmon after the 8 minutes and reduce the remaining sauce in half.  Next add 100 ml of cream (I used a 15% milk fat cream, shame on me) and continue cooking the sauce until it has a bit of a thicker consistency (5 minutes seemed to do the trick).  Cut in a bunch of dill and pour over the salmon serving immediately.  Non-drinkers and New Year's eve revelers will be happy to know that the recipe works great with flat champagne/sparkling wine as I made the salmon a second time three days later with the remnants of our first bottle of wine.  The girls both really enjoyed the meal.