Summer Plans: Salmon Tartare and Salmon Grilled Cheese

Double down on delicious seafood this summer with recipes by Chef Kristin Butterworth of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort for Salmon Tartare and Salmon Grilled Cheese.

Life “on the mountain,” as she describes her perch high up in the Alleghenies about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, is sweetest in the summer. Lush green woods and meadows are almost all that the eye can see – except for the possible interruption of a patch of sky or a glittering stream far down in a valley. What does a resident of this earthly paradise do? Grow. Cook. Eat. Relax. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it?

Chef Kristin also supervises all the food that happens at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, a 2,000-acre hospitality complex with three hotels, a series of luxury residences, a world-class spa, a golf club, five restaurants, a couple of bars, a team room and an ice cream parlor. And a private airstrip. And that’s not even a complete list. We can’t even talk about the art collection, the shops, the hiking or the horseback riding. But we can share the day we spent contemplating summer food with Chef Kristin, who says, “Summer for me means the triumphant return of green, raw and simple ingredients where you allow peak-season flavors to shine with minimal changes and enhancements. They don’t need much to make them glow.”

Her goldfish-shaped Salmon Tartare has a secret: it’s filled with a sumptuous avocado puree. “The avocado adds a citrusy flavor that rounds off the fatty salmon perfectly. We wanted to ensure that you got a bit of avocado with every single bite of the dish, so we hid the puree in the center so that when you eat it you don’t have to think about it but rather just enjoy,” Chef Kristin explains. Why the dark seaweed goldfish crackers? “That’s nostalgia…who doesn’t love the snack that smiles back?” she says impishly. There’s a bit of nostalgia in the Salmon Grilled Cheese, as well.

Salmon Tartare

Avocado Puree

Serves 4

2 avocados, halved and pitted

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 limes, juiced

½ tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Place the avocado, garlic, cilantro, and limejuice in the blender. Process until completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper, according to taste.

Transfer to a serving dish and cover tightly, pressing plastic wrap against the surface of the sauce before covering with an airtight lid. (Kitchen tip: we often blend 1 500 mg tablet of vitamin C to preserve the green color)

White Soy Dressing

Serves 4

1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped

1 red onion, roughly chopped

2 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lime, juiced

½ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

4 tbsp sugar

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

½ cup Kewpie mayo

Combine all ingredients, with the exception of the mayonnaise, in a sealable container. Let everything sit overnight to extract flavor. When ready to use, strain out the ingredients from the liquid and whisk in the mayonnaise. Feel free to add more if you desire a thicker dressing.

Goldfish Crackers

Serves 4

¼ cup AP Flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 egg white

½ tsp squid ink (optional)

½ tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl thoroughly. Once combined, add the egg white to the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or by hand until completely incorporated and smooth. Then, add the softened butter and again mix until completely combined and very smooth. The mixture may look broken, don’t panic, it will be fine!

Once everything is together you can add a ½ teaspoon of squid ink for color or sesame seeds for texture, but that is optional.

Spread the mixture out evenly on a Silpat or sprayed parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. If you would like to cut the cracker into a particular shape, like a goldfish, do it immediately after removing from the oven as the cracker will crisp up very quickly.

Smoked Salmon Grilled Cheese

Cold-Smoked Salmon

Serves 8

2 to 3 lb fresh salmon

1 ½ cups kosher salt

2 tbsp horseradish

1 ½ cups brown sugar

Run your fingers over the flesh side of the salmon fillets, feeling for the sharp ends of pin bones. Pull out any you find with fish tweezers.

To make the cure:

Combine the salt, horseradish and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and mix with your fingers.

Spread 1/3 of the cure over the bottom of a shallow dish or sheet tray just large enough to hold the fish. Lay the salmon fillets on top of the cure. (The cure should extend ½-inch beyond the edges of the fish on each side.) Spread the remaining cure on top so it covers the fish completely.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and cure the fish in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.

Gently rinse the cure off the salmon under cold running water. Place the salmon in a large bowl with cold water to cover by 3 inches. Soak for 30 minutes then drain well.

Blot the salmon dry on both sides with paper towels. Arrange it skin-side down on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Let the salmon dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator until it feels tacky, about 4 hours or overnight. It is very important that the salmon be very dry before smoking.

Set up your smoker for cold smoking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Cold-smoke the salmon until the exterior is bronzed with smoke and the salmon feels semi-firm and leathery, about 12 hours.

Sourdough Bread

Serves 8

1 cup sourdough starter

1 ½ cups lukewarm water

1 to 2 tsp instant yeast

2 ½ tsp salt

5 cups AP flour

Mix everything together and then knead it to make a soft, smooth dough. It may be soft and slightly sticky, but you should be able to round it into a ball.

Allow the dough to rise in a lightly greased bowl or covered container until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes. Once it has doubled, divide the dough into 2 pieces.

At this point shape the dough into oval loaves and place them on lightly greased, parchment-lined baking sheets. Again, let them rise until puffy, about an hour, score whatever design you’d like on the top - typically we just do two evenly spaced lines and then place in a preheated 425-degree oven.

Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it is golden brown and the internal temperature is 200 degrees. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack.

The bread will last at room temperature up to 5 days.

Pickled Onions

Serves 8

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1 cup water

1 red onion, thinly sliced

Whisk together first 3 ingredients and water in a small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Place onion in the small, sealable container and pour vinegar mixture over and let sit refrigerated overnight.

Horseradish Vinaigrette

Serves 8

1 tbsp horseradish

1 garlic clove, small dice

½ shallow, small dice

1 tsp honey

2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup salad oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a blender, combine all the ingredients and blend until completely smooth and emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

STORY AND PROP STYLING BY KEITH RECKER / PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE BRYCE/ RECIPE AND FOOD BY CHEF KRISTIN BUTTERWORTH, NEMACOLIN WOODLANDS RESORT / DINNERWARE BY FD CERAMICS @FDCERAMICS