Midsummer Poached Salmon

"Why candles?" objected Daisy, frowning. She snapped them out with her fingers. "In two weeks it'll be the longest day in the year." She looked at us all radiantly. "Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."

Midsummer is a fascinating time of the year. For starters, it's associated with all sorts of curious folklore, magic, and mythology; and the long summer days give opportunity for parties, and lazing around in the garden after work. Traditionally, the 24th June is St John's Day, or Midsummer Day; even though the true solstice is on June 21st. So last weekend, we drove up to Worcestershire to see two great, and important English gardens, Hidcote Manor, and Kiftsgate Court; both currently flowering in all their full glory.

On the way back, I persuaded The Girl to stop off in Oxfordshire, and pay our Midsummer respects to The Rollright Stones. This is a lesser known megalithic
stone circle, which dates back over three and half thousand years. As I expected, there were a few pagans (with flowers in their hair) milling around the circle, and soaking up the vibes. I took a quick photograph of the "Whispering Knight"- which is a large, single stone, standing about a hundred yards away from the main formation.

Anyway, back to things culinary. If you're going to have a party at this time of year, one of the most perfect dishes you can offer your guests is a classic whole poached salmon. For this, I would strongly advise that you invest in a fish kettle. This is a great bit of kit: it's just a long, rectangular, metal pan with a lid- big enough to hold a large salmon.

To poach the salmon, you need to fill the kettle up with cold water, to which you've previously added a few peppercorns , a bayleaf, and a bouquet garni. Place the gutted salmon into the water, and bring the kettle to a slow boil on top of your stove. Once the water is beginning to simmer, put the lid back on, and turn off the heat. Let the fish stand in the hot water. This is a great tip for cooking fish. It stops the flesh from falling apart, and ensures that the fish remains very slightly undercooked (you want that), and moist, too. You'll be able to tell when the fish is cooked: when the flesh begins to flake gently away, and the eyes of the fish turn opaque.

Take out the cooked salmon, and lie it on a plate. Let it rest for a bit. Try and keep the fish as whole as you can. Remove the skin, and the fins, but keep the head and tail. Next, you need to remove the backbone. Run a knife along the top of the fish, and then make a cut to remove the head. The goal is to take off the top fillet, remove all the bones, and then reassemble the fish. Don't worry too much if the fish breaks up a bit, as we're about to disguise this with cucumber.

Once you're happy that most, if not all of the bones, have been taken out, start cutting up a cucumber into thin slices. Overlap these on the top of the salmon, so that they look like scales. So to recap: you've got a de-boned poached salmon, with the head and tail still intact. The centre section (ie the pink flesh) is now covered with cucumber scales.

If you're in a really cheffy (albeit retro) mood, you can now glaze the salmon with aspic. If you can't be bothered, serve it as it is. In both cases, you'll need a nice, stiff mayonnaise to go with it, preferably made by yours truly. For variety, it could be fun to add some chopped dill, and a squeeze of lemon to the mayonnaise. Serve the finished salmon on a bed of watercress.