An Atlantic Salmon and a Blueberry walk into a bar. Together? Cool.

Posted by Michael on Nov 16, 2010 in Recipes | 1 comment

The winner:  Phyllo-wrapped Salmon with Blueberry-Pear Pico de Gallo, by NBCC student Shelby Wilson.

What do you think of when you think “Atlantic Salmon”.   A seared filet, maybe smoked salmon?  How about blueberries?  Blueberry pie of course.  Maybe a nice jam?

New Brunswick Community College Culinary students are taking an unlikely pair of Charlotte County’s most famous ingredients and turning convention on its head.

The St. Andrew’s campus of NBCC held it’s second annual culinary competition Monday, November 15, showcasing the student’s imagination with Atlantic salmon and blueberries, specifically wild blueberries, a tastier cousin of the more common cultivated blueberries.

It was a real eye-opener that showed the flexibility of the two ingredients, along with the creativity of the students, led by culinary instructor Dave Irvin.

The competition began a few weeks ago with students pairing up salmon and blueberries with all manner of sweet and savoury ingredients in the categories of appetizer, main and dessert.  Voting widdled the field down to nine students who took part in the finals this week.

Appetizers set the stage for an interesting evening right off the bat.   I started with Wild Blueberry Blinis with Smoked Salmon “Caviar” and Cucumber Salad, Puffed Blueberry Smoked Salmon and Blueberry Salmon Fish and Chips.  My favourite of the bunch was the “fish and chips” but the Puffed Blueberry Smoked Salmon took the prize for the appetizer category with the judges, a dish created by student Rosemarie Perry.

Blueberries, being sweet with deep flavour, stand up surprisingly well to the strong flavour of Atlantic Salmon, and of course the berries add great colour to the dish as well.   Neither ingredient looked out of place in any dish.

For mains dishes, I started with the Blueberry Salmon Stir Fry, a mix of salmon and bell peppers with blueberries and rice, then moved onto Phyllo-wrapped Salmon with Blueberry-Pear Pico de Gallo and finally Blueberry maple-glazed Salmon with mixed salad greens and a Blueberry Vinaigrette.   My favourite would prove to be the winner of the mains:  the Phyllo-wrapped Salmon with Blueberry-Pear Pico de Gallo, created by Shelby Wilson.  The base was delicious and it’s hard not to like anything wrapped in phyllo, especially something like perfectly cooked, moist Atlantic Salmon.

I’m not a dessert person usually but the offerings here were the kinds of desserts I like.  Heavy on light ingredients (does that make sense?) like blueberries and light on the really heavy stuff.  A light-as-air Wild Angel Food Cake Trifle was my first dessert, followed by Blueberry Flan and Blueberry Creme Brulée.  This might have actually been the strongest category in my mind, but the trifle, created by student Dominick Vila, nudged ahead to win the category, both with me and the judges.

The competition is a free event to the public, sponsored by Cooke Aquaculture and Granite Town Farms.

Other images from the event:

The presentation version of the Puffed Blueberry Smoked Salmon

Wild Blueberry Blinis with Smoked Salmon “Caviar” and Cucumber Salad lined up with other dishes at the serving table.

Blueberry salmon fish and chips.  The cole slaw alone was worth the price of admission!

A dainty version of the salmon and cucumber with blueberries.

Wild Blueberry Blinis with Smoked Salmon “Caviar” and Cucumber Salad

The ‘presentation’ version of the salmon stir fry with blueberries.

Blueberry maple-glazed Salmon with mixed salad greens and a Blueberry Vinaigrette

Blueberry Creme Brulée

Wild Angel Food Cake Trifle

Discussion of the dishes just before the final tabulation of votes.  From left, Beth Hatt of Granite Town Farms, Chef Jean Sabourin, one of the judges, Ian White of Cooke Aquaculture, culinary instructor Chef Dave Irvin and Chef Curtis Reed, also a judge of the event.