Miso Glazed Wild BC Salmon with Black Pasta and Shiitake Mushrooms

This dish offers fantastic colour contrast between the reddish pink of the salmon, and the black of the pasta, with an earthy pop of colour of the asparagus and deliciously crowed with glazed shiitake mushrooms. This recipe is sure to wow your guests at your next dinner party!

*A tip before you begin: For best results, prepare the miso glaze and marinate the salmon overnight.

Ingredients

Salmon:

• 2.2lb (1kg) Skipper Otto wild salmon (any species (sockeye used in this dish) – skin on – cut into 6 equal pieces)
• 3 Tbsp grape seed oil
• 1/2 cup cilantro – finely chopped

Miso Glaze:

• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup brown miso
• 2 Tbsp berry sugar
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Black Pasta w/Asparagus & Shiitake Mushrooms:

• 250g Black Pasta (Molisana suggested) or fresh squid ink pasta
• 12 asparagus stalks – sliced into 2 inch pieces

Pasta Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves – sliced thin
• 2 inch piece of ginger – minced
• 2 shallots – peeled and diced finely
• 1 basket of grape tomatoes – cut in half
• 2/3 cup fresh parsley – minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese – freshly grated
• Freshly ground pepper – to taste

Glazed Shiitakes:

• 2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms – stemmed and cut into thirds
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp umami powder
• 3-4 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions

1. Place the sake, mirin and miso in a small pot on low heat and whisk to remove any lumps. Add both sugars and continue to cook until the mixture is smooth and cohesive, and the sugars have melted. Remove from heat and cool completely.
2. Once the glaze is cooled, pour it into a large resealable bag. Add the skinned salmon portions, seal and marinate. Turn every few hours to ensure that all sides of the salmon get covered in marinade. (Tip: For best results, marinate the salmon overnight in the fridge, to allow the salmon time to marinate well.) 
3. Boil the asparagus in salted water for 2-3 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove and shock into ice water, then transfer to a kitchen towel to absorb excess water and set aside.
4. Boil water and cook pasta as instructed, or about 8 minutes, and prepare your sauce.
5. Heat the olive oil in a small 1 litre sized pot. Add the garlic slices, ginger and shallots and soften. Keep the heat on medium until ingredients turns light golden in colour. Add the tomatoes and place the lid on the pot. The heat should be set to the lowest setting, as you want to simply soften the tomatoes not cook them.
6. In a non-stick fry pan, heat the butter and add the shiitake and fry for about 5 minutes – they should be soft, then sprinkle over the umuami and stir. Drizzle in the maple syrup and stir and remove from heat. Once ready, give each piece of salmon a topping of the shiitake.
7. While cooking the shiitake, heat a non-stick fry pan, griddle or BBQ to medium high heat. Add the grape see oil and fry the salmon on both sides until deep golden brown. The salmon can also be baked in the oven.
8. To serve, add the stained pasta into the pot with olive oil / tomatoes, then add about 1/3 cup of olive oil and the parmesan cheese. Toss to combine all of the ingredients, season to taste.

Plating:

Twirl a serving of pasta onto the middle of your serving dish, place the salmon on top of the pasta and crown with a spoon of glazed shiitake mushrooms, and garnish with chopped cilantro. 

Servings: 6 people

Recipe shared with us by our friends at Gourmet Warehouse and Chef Deniz Tarakcioglu, from their Pacific Plate: West Coast Seafood Mastery cooking demo.