Here at the Virginia Inn I have put together a Northwest product driven menu. Items featured on this menu come from local farms like Full Circle Farm, Baird Orchards, Willie’s Greens, and even staff picked produce from Lazy River Farms. Our seafood comes from local waters and local farms like Westcott Bay Shellfish Farm, however the Northwest’s favorite salmon comes direct from the fishermen.
Through a program called Sound Catch we have the ability to buy direct from the fishermen, and in our case fisherman, and offer salmon that has not been out of the water more then 12 hours. The state regulated releases are varied for about a month and tend to be every three days or so. Throughout the night the Salmon are caught, processed and delivered that morning. My supplier, Art Peterson, has been a very successful fisherman throughout his whole life and is applying his art to this profession. His dedication to his skill is the reason why I value his fish so highly. He has seen the ugly side of commercial fisheries and like me feels that the quality of the salmon is in direct correlation to how it is handled. Art takes extraordinary care with each individual fish not allowing the animal to touch the deck, bleeding it right away to help avoid stress, slacking the fish in an ice bath and delivering each fish in pristine condition. For myself it is about care with which the fish is butchered, held, cooked and presented. Flavor, texture and quality are first and foremost in my mind. Here at the Virginia Inn we take as much care of the fish with our skills as Art does with hi.
This wonderful product has quickly inspired a handful of great dishes. We feature a salmon tartare that showcases the fresh fish by serving it the its best and most elemental state. The fish is diced small and seasoned with sweet onions, fresh thyme, and a sauce of fresh horseradish that almost steals the show from the pristine fresh local salmon. As an entrée this great salmon is served grilled with a Northwest succotash composed of fresh organic corn, squash, beans, tomatoes and sweet onions in a rich corn cream. Summer in Washington offers a very diverse selection of produce and the possibilities to marry those flavors with this salmon are immense. Tomatillos and fresh beets are already in route and being picked for tomorrow’s menu with the salmon waiting to see how it well be paired up.
Grilled King Salmon with Northwest succotash and a sweet corn cream
serves 2
King Salmon filets 2-9oz portions
(preferably caught by Art Peterson)
Yellow sweet corn 2 large ears
Organic green beans 2oz
Organic yellow wax beans 2 oz
Organic Sunburst Squash 4 each
Organic baby green squash 2 each
Organic sweet salad onion 1 small
Organic heirloom cherry tomatoes ¼ pint
Heavy cream 1 C
Extra virgin olive oil 2T
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley (coarse chopped) 2 T
Have your local fishmonger butcher the salmon into two 9 oz portions and keep it refrigerated until ready to grill. Gather the produce and make sure to clean and wash all products well in cold running water. Cut the corn off the cob reserving the cobs to make a sauce. Slice the beans on a ¼ inch bias, and ¼ inch dice the squash and onions. Unless the tomatoes are large cut in half and reserve separate form the other vegetables. Cut the cobs into quarters and allow to steep in the cream with an additional 1 C water for approx. 10 minutes, strain and save to finish the dish. Preheat your favorite outdoor grill on high heat and clean and season the grill. Pre-heat a large sauté pan and place one tablespoon on the oil in the pan. Add all the vegetable reserving the tomatoes and sauté until onions are translucent and the corn has started to jump approx 3 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and corn cream and allow to cook approx 5 minutes longer. Season with S/P and add the coarse chopped parsley. Season the fish with S/P and brush on the remaining tablespoon of oil. The fish should not take more than 3 minutes a side and unless a four alarm fire starts do not move the fish. Place the fish directly on the succotash and enjoy.
