Rooibos is a great addition to poaching stock for chicken or fish: it adds a subtle, sweet flavour to the meat. This salmon poached in rooibos is absolutely sublime. It doesn’t sound as complicated as you might think – in fact it’s really easy.
This is one of the dishes I learned to make on a rooibos cooking course weekend at Bushmans Kloof in the Cederberg with executive chef Floris Smith.
Serves 4
You’ll need:
- 800 ml water
- 10 rooibos tea bags
- 1 finger of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into julienne strips
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 5 ml white peppercorns
- 5 ml coriander seeds, toasted
- 2 bay leaves
- 80 ml lemon juice
- 1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthways, with seeds removed
- 1 fresh red chilli, with seeds removed
- 720 g salmon, cut into 180 g portions
In a saucepan, mix the water, tea bags, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, coriander, bay leaves, vanilla, chilli and lemon juice with a generous pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to the boil, turn down the heat and infuse for three to five minutes. Strain the liquid back into the saucepan through a fine-mesh strainer. Put the salmon fillets into the simmering rooibos liquid and cook for five to seven minutes until medium rare (salmon should still be pink inside). Remove the fish from the liquid and serve with mashed potato, steamed vegetables and a drizzle of basil pesto.
