Smoked Salmon Rillette Recipe

Chef Bernard Guillas, executive chef of The Marine Room Restaurant in La Jolla, hosted the Spring Fling Cooking Demonstration, which was presented by the Women’s Health Center at Sharp Grossmont Hospital as part of its Women’s Healthy Hour Seminars. The recipes below were featured at Chef Bernard's demonstration.

Registered dietitian Candy Cumming from Sharp Weight Management and Health Education teamed up with Chef Bernard to highlight nutritional tips.

Smoked Salmon Rilette Butter Lettuce Salad With Radishes, Hearts of Palm and a Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Serves 6

Smoked Salmon Rilette

  • 4 ounces fresh salmon fillet, boned, skinned
  • 4 ounces smoked salmon
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped mint
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steam fresh salmon, approximately 8 minutes. Place on paper towel. Set aside. Cool. Coarsely chop smoked salmon. Place in mixing bowl. Combine with lemon juice, yogurt, chives, mint, salt and pepper. Flake steamed salmon. Fold into smoked salmon mixture. Divide into six ramekins. Chill two hours.

Butter Lettuce Salad

  • 1 head butter lettuce
  • 1 small bunch radishes, thinly sliced
  • 6 medium hearts of palm, cut on the bias
  • 1 blood orange, zested and juiced
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons hazelnut oil

Toss lettuce, radishes and hearts of palm together. Combine orange juice and zest, vinegar and salt in mixing bowl. Whisk in hazelnut oil. Pour over salad. Toss lightly.

Presentation

  • 1/4 cup toasted almonds
  • 2 blood oranges, peeled, cut into segments

Place salad on chilled individual serving plates. Unmold salmon rilette in center of salad. Garnish with toasted almonds and orange segments.

Nutritional Tips From Candy Cumming
Salmon and other fatty, cold-water fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower heart disease risk, help arthritis and may possibly help with memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

  • Consider fish oil as a supplement
  • Keep in mind that vegetable sources of omega-3 fatty acids need to be converted to “EPA” in the body and, as such, are not as efficient a source as fish
  • Look for wild (not farmed) salmon, herring, sardines and mackerel
  • Other forms of omega-3s are available in fortified eggs
  • Walnuts and flaxseed are also high in omega-3s

For More Information
To learn more about Sharp's nutrition services or to find a Sharp-affiliated physician, search for San Diego doctors or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277), Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. To find general information about nutrition, read the Nutrition News archive.