Wine-poached salmon + sorrel pesto

This post could also be titled What To Do with Leftover Wine, which I realize may not be a problem for everyone. It usually isn’t a problem for me, either, but there was this very large glass of white wine—a piece of plastic wrap helpfully covering its top—sitting in my refrigerator. The bottle had already been banished to the recycling, and he said that this way it would be pre-chilled and ready to go for when I needed a nip. I smiled and nodded, since there was nothing else I could do at that point, really. But the whole scene also brought to mind images of beer coolies and drive-thru windows, which is not always the atmosphere I try to evoke when I have a dinner party, or even when I’m alone, nor was I persuaded of the method’s efficacy. So the wine with the plastic wrap had to go, and it was not to be drunk.

Using wine for cooking is a nice way to deal with the bits you might not be too keen on drinking, of course. And salmon, which for whatever reason I’d been craving, is very good poached in white wine. Sorrel in turn, which grows like a weed in the garden if you have one (I don’t), goes with salmon cooked almost any way. Many recipes will suggest wilting it into heated butter or cream, which can be very good indeed. But I can’t be the only person who finds eating butter unappealing in the dead of summer. There’s also that unattractive habit sorrel has of turning nearly black on contact with heat. So I made a kind of pesto instead, with only herbs and olive oil. Salmon with sorrel is lovely in myriad ways, however, so feel free to tinker however you like. I’ll pour myself a fresh drink while you work.

Salmon in heat, a menu
Olives  |  Minted lentil soup, very cold
Wine-poached salmon + sorrel pesto, bread
Mâche salad  |  Apricot lavender tart

Wine-poached salmon + sorrel pesto, a recipe
Not all alcohol is burned off from wine (or any other liquor) in cooking, so if you have very small children, or otherwise have reason to be concerned about even the tiniest bit of alcohol consumption, use only water here. If you wish to scale this preparation up for more than 2 people, you will not necessarily need more liquid to cook the fish, only enough to cover the bottom of your pan comfortably.

For the fish:  2 pieces salmon, about 4 oz/.3 lbs/120g each  |  1 cup white wine, water, or a combination  |  several sprigs thyme, rosemary, or fennel fronds, optional |  1 sun-dried tomato, diced  |  fancy sea salt, optional

For the pesto:  4 small or 2 big bunches sorrel  |  extra virgin olive oil  |  lemon, optional  |  salt + pepper

First, make the sorrel pesto:  Wash the leaves and tender stems and dry well. Use a mortar + pestle, mini chopper, or food processor to blitz the sorrel with several glugs of olive oil, beginning with about ¼ cup. Add pinches of salt and pepper, a tiny bit of lemon juice, taste, and adjust seasoning and amount of oil as necessary.

To poach the salmon:  In a shallow pan with straight sides bring the liquid to a boil, and then turn down to a gentle simmer. Add the herb sprigs, if using, and place the salmon fillets skin side down in the liquid. The liquid will not even come close to covering the salmon, which is fine. Cover the pan, and let poach for 5 minutes.

Carefully lift the salmon out of the pan with a slotted spatula (or 2), and arrange however you please on a platter with the sorrel pesto. Garnish with the sun-dried tomato and fancy sea salt, if you have it.