THE NEXT TIME YOUR fish supplier cuts you a fillet, ask for the rest of the fish. Here’s what to do with it.
SERVES 4 AS MAIN, more as a first course / TIME: ABOUT 15 MIN
When the fillet is cut from a fish, there is still a lot of good meat left on the main body. Clinging to and in between the bones, and left where the quick fillet knife missed, salmon flesh is tender and sweet. I made this tartare and served it with the Day-Old Charred Garlic Bread (here) and a bottle of wine for a casual weekend family-style lunch with friends. The fish gets dressed up with flavors from lots of scraps and condiments from the refrigerator and garden.
3 lemons
1 salmon carcass (see Note)
Assorted chopped herb scraps from the refrigerator (perhaps parsley, chives, chopped dill)
Assorted chopped tender wild herbs and flowering weeds from the backyard garden (lambsquarters, chive flowers, yellow wood sorrel, Asiatic dayflower, garden phlox flowers; see Wild Herbs Glossary, here)
Maldon salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Salty condiments such as Dijon mustard, pickled jalapeños, and cornichons (but don’t go out and buy condiments just for this dish!)
Grate the zest from 2 of the lemons and set aside. Cut the zested lemons in half. Cut the unzested lemon into wedges and set aside for serving.
Squeeze the lemon halves all over the salmon carcass and scatter with some of the herbs and all the lemon zest. Finish with a generous sprinkling of Maldon salt and pepper.
To serve, guests help themselves by scraping off a portion of the soft flesh with a spoon, adding a generous extra squeeze of lemon, more herbs, and condiments of choice.
NOTE:
For the salmon carcass (I call it carcass because it is what is left of the fish after the fillet has been cut away), buy a whole salmon and ask your fishmonger to fillet the fish (or do it yourself), leaving generous amounts of the pink flesh on the bones. Use your favorite recipe to cook the fillet, and reserve the head and tail for Fish Head & Tail Soup (here).