Fountain salmon, asparagus & strawberries

This recipe by Oscar Garcia, chef of the Cueillette restaurant in Altillac, comes from the 2024 edition ofBook 109: The new blood of French gastronomy. Discover the ingredients and preparation steps to make it a breeze.

• Serves 6
• Preparation time: 20 min
• Cooking time: 35 min

Ingredients for fountain salmon, asparagus & strawberries

• 1 brook salmon
• Salmon eggs

For the white wine sauce

• 4 shallots
• 25 cl white wine
• 25 cl cream
• 40 g butter
• 1 bouquet garni

For the strawberry and asparagus tartar

• 6 large white asparagus spears
• 4 green asparagus spears
• 1 sprig lemon balm
• 10 large Mariguette strawberries
• olive oil
• Flower of salt

Steps for the fountain salmon, asparagus & strawberries

1. Prepare the salmon: lift the fillets, remove the bones, trim and portion into 6 pieces. You can ask your fishmonger to do this.
2. Make the white wine sauce: using the bones and bouquet garni, create a fish stock. Cook for 20 min with 50 cl water. Sweat the chopped shallots and add the white wine. Reduce, then add the fish stock. Reduce again and add the cream. Allow to concentrate and correct by adding white wine. Beat with butter.
3. Make the strawberry and asparagus tartar: peel, trim and bevel the white asparagus heads. Finely dice the green asparagus and white asparagus tails. Halve 3 strawberries, dice the rest and mix with the asparagus brunoise. Season, add oil and chopped lemon balm. Cook the asparagus heads in boiling salted water for 12 min.
4. Cooking the salmon: place the salmon back in a hot pan. Remove and allow to finish cooking off the heat. Season with fleur de sel.
5. Arrange a quenelle of tartare, a spoonful of sauce sprinkled with salmon roe, the white asparagus and the strawberry "croque sel" on each plate. Garnish with a few flowers from your garden and lemon balm.

For furtherinformation:

• Cueillette, 3 La Raufie, 19120 Altillac
• 12.5/20 in the Livre des 109
• Read Gault&Millau's review of Cueillette