Salmon is a fish that never really enticed me; it was always boring and seemed to be lacking that extra something to make it more appealing. Lately, fish has been strewn through every magazine and cookbook because the possibilities are endless and it creates a fast, healthy meal. There are so many ways to prepare fish and its so versatile that I figured I might as well give salmon a shot again. The Italian cooking bible, Silverspoon, was my first guide to cooking fish. I remember making a fish fumet for halibut and loved how the broth brought both flavor and moisture to the fish. That memory came to me when I began to see recipes for poaching fish in olive oil. The reviews raved about the silky texture and the juicy meat, so I figured I give it a try. To start out, I figured that I would need a broth; something to finish the salmon off in and also a liquid to braise the broccoli in. After looking through various cookbooks, I came across a mushroom jus in Modernist Cuisine. Why not! Poaching the salmon in the olive oil created the silkiest mouth feel while the it stayed perfectly moist and tender. Finishing it in the mushroom jus helped to add a nice browned surface with a lot of added flavor. To brighten the dish up, I created a pea shout coulis that rounded out the flavor of the mushroom. Together, the dish shed new light on an old classic for me.

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