Beautiful Borscht Salmon

Plate up a palette of pretty colours. Rich orange grilled salmon, raspberry red borscht sauce, bright white crème fraiche, deep green dill sprigs. A dish that will delight your taste buds as well as your eyes. Lovely served with fresh steamed haricots verts and lemon rice. The recipe makes 8 servings. But do not worry if you are cooking for 2 or 4. Any unused borscht sauce is easily thinned to soup consistency and very flavourful the next day. Enjoy your borscht again hot or as a beautiful cold summer soup!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Borscht Sauce

• 1  firm ripe beet (8 ounces)
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1⁄3 cup shallot, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup carrot, chopped
• 2  tablespoons celery, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup napa cabbage, chopped (packed)
• 1  medium garlic clove, minced
• 1  cup canned broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
• 1  small bay leaf
• 4  peppercorns
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill)
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3  tablespoons creme fraiche

• To Grill

• 8  salmon fillets
• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
•  coarse ground  garlic salt
•  fresh cracked black pepper

• To Garnish

•  additional creme fraiche
•  additional sprigs fresh dill

Directions

1. Step 1 is good to do in advance. Place beet in a pot of boiling water and cook uncovered 15 minutes until semi-tender; remove from heat, cover pot, and allow beet to steam another 15 minutes; remove beet from hot water with slotted spoon; once cool, peel and dice beet.
2. Steps 2 and 3 may also be done in advance. Saute aromatic shallots, carrot, and celery in olive oil until semi-tender; stir in cabbage and garlic; add diced beet, broth, bay leaf, and peppercorns; adjust heat, cover pot and gently simmer for one half hour until vegetables are tender.
3. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf and peppercorns; add salt, dill, and red wine vinegar; puree sauce in blender or food processor until smooth; stir in crème fraiche; taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Borscht sauce may be served hot or cold; keep heated in saucepan until serving time; or chill sauce in refrigerator.
4. While borscht sauce is cooking, rub salmon fillets on both sides with olive oil; sprinkle salmon with garlic salt and pepper; grill fillets 4-5 minutes per side until done. To serve, plate each salmon fillet, then top with 1/4 cup (hot or cold) borscht sauce, additional crème fraiche, and sprigs of fresh dill. A beautiful presentation your dinner guests will not soon forget!
5. This recipe makes just over 2 cups borscht sauce. Canned broth may be used to thin any unused sauce to preferred soup consistency. Stir in broth and reheat, or enjoy a cold summer soup. Very delicious the next day!