My grandmother in Maine always talked a good game about the Down East tradition of serving salmon and peas on July 4. We never ate it, of course, because Grammie, who lived in Portland, would rather have hamburgers and Jordan hot dogs. And who could blame her? Like I said, she talked a good game.

Years later, I learned the reason behind the old Yankee tradition for the Fourth. It had to do with timing. Around the first week in July, the wild salmon would start to run in the rivers, and peas, planted in the wet spring, would begin to pop in the garden. No-fuss Independence Day menu. Gotta love the Maine-iacs!

But today, because the weather was 85 degrees here on the South Shore, I needed something for supper that would keep me independent from a hot kitchen or a hot Weber.

Salmon was on sale, I had a bag of small red potatoes in the fridge and a half-box of Bird’s Eye Garden Peas in the freezer. Luckily, I also had in the house a two-days-from-expiration Vermont Creamery creme fraiche, Dijon mustard, lemons and a touch o’ honey.

To poach the one pound of salmon filets, I chopped up a celery stalk and half a carrot, thinly sliced a small lemon and added them to a large, straight sided fry pan called a sautoir. I added the salmon filets, salt, peppercorns, lemon juice, a cup of white wine and enough water to cover the filet.

I brought the liquid to a boil, turn down to a simmer and covered the pan. The salmon, which was thick in the middle, poached for 6 to 7 minutes. I turned off the heat and left the pan covered for 3 minutes more. After the timer buzzed, I removed the salmon with a large fish spatula to a plate to cool. Next stop: the fridge.

In the meantime, I blanched the peas and boiled up the little potatoes. And set them on the counter to cool.

For a sauce to nap over the fish, I mixed together 1/2 cup of creme fraiche, 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and  1/2 teaspoon of honey in a glass bowl. After that, it, too went into the refrigerator. Over and out.

My husband said he enjoyed the Yankee Doodle dinner. But I’m sure he would have savored it more if it was as hot as the Fourth of July! As luck would have it, a powerful thunderstorm rolled through around 5 p.m. and sent the temperature south. In fact, it felt a little Down East-y in here. Ayuh.

 

Tags: #4thofJulymeals, #foodtraditions, #hotweatherdinners, #salmon, #salmonrecipe