In a Nut Shell

Hello, peanut gallery!

You can scrutinize me all you want, but I've been dutifully working. I'll admit, it was in sunny Napa Valley. Nonetheless, it's still work.

This week, I attended a conference hosted by The Peanut Institute. It was a comprehensive course covering the legume's history, health benefits, culinary applications and more.

The highlight—for me, anyway—was attending The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. It was my first time there, and I quickly understood why my friend from culinary school still thinks about what her life would be like if she would have chosen the California program instead.

After a morning of lectures and a demo on deep-frying turkey, the conference attendees were asked to prepare lunch. I slipped on my toque and quickly got to work. I felt a rush of adrenaline stepping back into a school kitchen.

Peanuts, of course, were used in virtually every recipe. I selected the Pan-Roasted Alaskan Salmon in Aromatic Peanut Pipian. I immediately realized that I had chosen perhaps the most extensive recipe in the bunch and, given the time constraints, I would be hard-pressed to finish.

Roasted Alaskan Salmon with Aromatic Peanut Pipian (Courtesy of The Culinary Institute of America)

Yield: 6 portions

14 ounces of tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 serrano chiles, stemmed

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 small white onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup peanuts (plus more for garnish), chopped

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

8 cilantro sprigs (plus more for garnish), chopped

6 Alaskan salmon fillets, each 3/4-inch thick and 5-6 ounces

1. For the sauce: Roast tomatillos and serranos on a baking sheet about 4 inches below a very hot broiler (or place them directly on a gas burner, like I did). When they blacken and soften on one side, turn and broil on other side. Peel skins and roughly chop. Transfer to blender along with their juice.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook another 1 minute. Scrape into blender with the tomatillos and serranos, leaving as much oil as possible in the pan. Blend to a smooth puree.

3. Return saucepan to medium-high heat and when hot enough to make a drop of the puree sharply sizzle, pour it in all at once. Stir to sear and concentrate the sauce, about 7 minutes. Set aside.

4. In an ungreased, small skillet, toast the peanuts for about 4-5 minutes until golden, stirring regularly. Scoop into sauce, along with chicken stock and chopped cilantro. Partially cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. (I found it to be a bit water, so I turned the heat up fairly high and let it reduce.)

5. In batches, pour the mixture into the blender and blend for about 1 minute, until the sauce is smooth. If smoother is preferred, strain it through a chinois. Return sauce to pan and adjust seasoning with salt. If too thick, think with a little stock for the consistency of a light cream soup; if too thin simmer to reduce.

6. For the salmon: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a large cast iron or oven-proof skillet with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and set into the oven. Lightly salt both sides of the fish. When pan is very hot, after about 10 minutes, remove it, lay in the fish and return to oven. When fish is crusty and brown underneath, after about 4-5 minutes, use a thin-bladed metal spatula and carefully flip. Return them to oven for 2-4 minutes.

7. Serve salmon with the sauce. Garnish with toasted peanuts and cilantro, if desired.

It was like school all over again: Even thought I wasn't being graded, I felt an obligation to prepare the dish to the best of my ability. I wanted Chef Lars (who reminded me so much of several of my instructors from culinary school) to know that I could cook.

Sweaty and fatigued, I presented the dish to chef. "You've done this before, haven't you?" he questioned.

I blushed. "Yes, chef."