Grilled Scottish Salmon with Creamy Polenta, Pistachios & Tomato Butter

A French-inspired recipe in collaboration with Scottish Salmon.

This week Scottish Salmon celebrates 25 years of holding the French Government’s Label Rouge award. This honour is given only to products of superior taste and quality. Scottish salmon producers are incredibly proud that their salmon was the first non-French food and only Scottish food to join this prestigious group.

To help celebrate, I have recreated a dish I enjoyed while visiting Paris in 2015: dos de saumon à la plancha, polenta crémeuse aux pistaches, beurre de tomate loosely translated as grilled salmon with creamy polenta with pistachios and tomato butter. 

This salmon dish was the first proper meal in a restaurant I enjoyed in Paris, around day 3 of my 5-day stay. As a solo traveller, I was reluctant to eat in a restaurant by myself, and I foolishly was frightened that I wouldn’t be able to read the menu properly, given that my attention in French class back in high school was, well, somewhat inadequate.

That day I’d walked from my studio apartment in the 12th arrondissement across the city to visit The Eiffel Tower. I hadn’t any plans to actually ascend the tower as I was told, on numerous occasions, that there was always a very long queue to get up there.

When I arrived, on a gorgeous sunny afternoon, there was a long queue at one entrance (the lift), and another entrance (the stairs) was completely empty! I paid my fare and climbed the 1,710 steps to the top.

There, I discovered (besides the fantastic views overlooking the city) that there was a restaurant! I’d worked up quite an appetite, so I thought I’d take my chances, overcome my reluctance about eating along and see if they had a table for free. They did, and I ordered the salmon and a glass of chilled white wine.

Fast forward eighteen months and that delicious meal is still etched in my memory. Firstly, I learned how to make creamy polenta and this is now regularly served at our dinner table, and secondly I’m more open to the idea of unusual food pairings and going for more simple, but fresh and flavourful ingredients, like good quality Scottish Salmon. If it’s good enough for French restaurants it’s good enough for my home cooking!

So, to begin my beautiful Eiffel Tower meal recipe recreation, I popped into my nearest fishmongers – Blydoit Fish in Scalloway, and picked up some fresh Shetland salmon fillets.

Next, I tried to work out the best way to make tomato butter, given that this was something I’d never done before. Slow roasting some ripe cherry tomatoes on the vine with a touch of fleur de del (because everyone buys a bag of that posh sea salt harvested in France by monks in the airport duty-free with the last of their Euros on their way home, right?) and some fresh thyme.

This was left to cool to room temperature and whizzed up with some softened Shetland butter to make a gorgeously flavoursome butter.

Simply store this butter in the freezer for up to three months, slicing off what you need directly from the freezer and defrosting. Serve with grilled fish or with crusty bread.

Do you make or eat tomato butter? What do you use yours for? Let me know in the comments!

All in all, I am rather pleased with how well my recipe recreation turned out. The tomato butter doesn’t visually look similar to what I was served in the Eiffel Tower restaurant, but it was definitely a delicious accompaniment to the simple grilled fish.

Looking back on my original photograph I believe I should have included pistachios in the creamy polenta itself, but for my recreation, I simply blanched them to bring out their vibrant green colour and sprinkled them over the top. I also missed out the snipped chives and the broad bean side.

 CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RECIPE ON THE SCOTTISH SALMON WEBSITE 

OTHER SALMON RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Smoked Salmon & Avocado Sushi {Recipe Video} by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Jerk Salmon with Mango Salsa by The Hedgecombers
Baked Salmon with Herbs by Farmersgirl Kitchen
Gluten-free Apple & Salmon Fish Cakes by Recipes from a Pantry
Honey Garlic Salmon by Little Sunny Kitchen
Hot Smoked Shetland Salmon with Puy Lentils & Spinach by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Scottish Barley & Smoked Salmon Salad by Foodie Quine
Crustless Salmon & Spinach Quiche by The Petite Cook
Red Pesto Crusted Salmon with Warm Salad by Feeding Boys

SHARING WITH SOME BLOG LINKIES

Simple & in Season by Feeding Boys (salmon comes into season in March)
No Waste Food Challenge (use up a glut of tomatoes with the tomato butter)

This is a commissioned recipe for Scottish Salmon, although all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories.