Cold Poached Salmon, Horseradish Sauces

Cold Poached Salmon with Three Horseradish Sauces

Cold Poached Salmon with Three Horseradish Sauces
Creamy, Red Beet, and Golden Beet

I was contemplating a starter course that would possibly appeal to more people on Passover. Those of us who absolutely adore our Eastern European Gefilte Fish are apparently and sadly, few and far between.

But is there anyone among my relatives who doesn’t love salmon? Of course, we will always honor tradition and keep serving gefilte fish. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This year, we also serve another elegant first course – a lovely, flavorful Cold Poached Salmon with THREE Horseradish Sauces and lots of fresh herbs. The entire dish can be prepared in advance, so it is easy and ready to go when it is Time to Eat during the Seder! Edible flowers are optional, but they sure do add to a pretty spring-like presentation.

Cold Poached Salmon, Horseradish

Cold Poached Salmon and Horseradish Sauces Recipes

Horseradish Recipes

Cold Poached Salmon:

Prepare the Court Bouillon (poaching liquid)

  • 1/3 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 qt. water
  • 1 1/2 c. dry white wine
  • 2 small onions
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 small fennel bulb
  • fresh parsley sprigs
  • fresh thyme springs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 t. Kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 t. peppercorns, crushed

Rough chop onion, carrot and fennel. Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for an hour. Strain poaching liquid, discard solids. See more here.

We like King Salmon Fillets as the best species of salmon for poaching. Don’t bother to remove the skin, it will slide right off after poaching. Place salmon in a pot. Pour hot court bouillon over the top, completely submerging the fillets. Barely simmer, do not boil, until the fish is just cooked through – about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet. Carefully remove the cooked salmon to a platter and let come to room temperature. Peel off the skin. Refrigerate, covered, until chilled and ready to serve.

Cold Poached Salmon with Three Horseradish Sauces

Creamy Horseradish Sauce:

  • 2 -3 T. grated horseradish root
  • 1/4 c. mayonnaise
  • 1/2 c. sour cream
  •  2 t. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 t. kosher salt (or to taste)
  •  1 T. dijon mustard (mustard is not kosher for Passover- simply omit during Passover, but definitely use other times of the year)

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least one hour up to 24 hours.

Cold Poached Salmon with Three Horseradish Sauces

Fresh Beet Horseradish:

Make two batches, one with red beets and another with golden beets.

Remove the beet greens. Scrub the beets. Place in an aluminum foil packet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Seal the packet, cook at 400°F on a sheet pan for an hour (or longer for extra large beets) until they are tender. Let cool then peel off the skin (a vegetable peeler works great). Cut into large dice.

1 large horseradish root, peeled and diced to large pieces
½ -1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 small beets, cooked
¼-½ cup sugar
Salt and pepper

1. Add diced horseradish into food processor and chop until broken down to smaller pieces
2. Add apple cider vinegar and continue to process
3. Add beets and sugar and continue to process
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Process until combined well and horseradish is almost pureed

Beet recipe compliments of my Cousin Vicki here.

Note: The horseradish root in the image above was humongous. We used about 75 grams trimmed horseradish and about 375 grams of peeled beets for each recipe. This made for a much milder version of Vicki’s potent horseradish.

Cold Poached Salmon with Three Horseradish Sauces

To Plate:

  • chives
  • dill
  • lemon
  • flowers

Place horseradish sauces in small ramekins or appetizer spoons. Drizzle cold poached salmon with good-tasting olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt. Garnish with chives, dill, lemon, and (optional) edible flowers. Serve with matzoh, of course.

Note: For a starter course, slice salmon fillets into smaller portions before poaching.

Happy Passover

Passover Table

Carrot Recipes:

Caramelized Baby Carrots, Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup here

Chilled Carrot Avocado Soup here

Rainbow Carrots, Hazelnut Truffle Aillade, Carrot Caramel, Browned Butter Hollandaise here

Passover Recipes:

Geri’s Gefilte Fish here

Vicki’s Beet Salad with Orange, Fennel, and Walnuts here

A Very Pretty Quinoa here

3 thoughts on “Cold Poached Salmon, Horseradish Sauces”

  1. Gold Beet Horseradish!!!
    Floweres have not shown up here yet!
    Real Good Salmon in freezer,
    Now I know what to do
    Thanks Lori!!!

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