Stuffed with shrimp and scallops and napped with a delicate beurre blanc sauce, this salmon roll makes an elegant dish for holiday entertaining.
This dish is a favorite at our home for entertaining - it is delicious, easy to make and guests are always impressed with the presentation (we bring the plank directly to the table and serve off of it!). My husband, who is currently serving in Afghanistan, was home on leave recently and it was his homecoming request for dinner! Since we are currently living in New Brunswick, we love that fresh atlantic salmon is readily available and the maple syrup here is some of the best in the world! In the spring time, I love to serve this dish with steamed fresh fiddleheads tossed in garlic butter and jasmine or basmati rice (or wild rice when we were living near Winnipeg). At other times of the year, I serve garlic sauteed spinach. If you aren't a curry lover, just leave it out and the dish is still great! Cedar planked Salmon is fantastic on the grill but can also be prepared in the oven. Enjoy!!
We prefer steaming over boiling because it prevents fresh crab from becoming waterlogged—and adding ingredients such as herbs, garlic and citrus during cooking enhances the crustacean's natural sweetness.
I am very excited about entering my recipe in the 2009 Canadian Living Cook of the Year Contest. I am an avid home-cook and love creating new and exciting home recipes to make for my family and friends. I am a firm believer in seasonal cooking, using the freshest ingredients available, and making use of local ingredients whenever possible. Consequently, I was delighted to see that this year's contest was to feature Canadian ingredients. I wanted to take things a step further and include some local Newfoundland ingredients. Newfoundland and Labrador has some wonderful producers for fresh, often organic, produce, seafood and meat products...and of course the island is well known for it's abundance of wild berries. Berry picking is a provincial past-time in late summer and early fall and many families, including my own, can be found on the hillsides or barrens, bent over and collecting gallons of sweet, juicy berries to be used fresh, or to be frozen for use during the long winter months. I knew as soon as I read about this year's contest that I wanted to feature these berries, along with our wonderful, locally-raised lamb and artfully crafted local wines, in my recipe. I hope you enjoy a taste of Newfoundland!
