How to cook a whole salmon

A whole poached or roasted salmon is a classic for entertaining - keep it simple for maximum elegance

Poaching
The best-known method for cooking a whole salmon has always been to poach it. And that works very well, provided you have a fish kettle and, preferably, a gas cooker with large burners.

• To emphasise the flavour of your salmon, make a court-bouillon by gently boiling water, vinegar, bay leaves, a sliced onion, a peeled and sliced carrot, black peppercorns, a large bunch of parsley and some salt. The amount should half-fill the fish kettle. Allow the liquid to go cold, then place the fish in the court-bouillon, bring back to the boil and poach gently for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the kettle from the heat and allow the fish to continue cooking as the liquid cools. If poaching in a hot court-bouillon, allow about 6 minutes for every 450g fish. Remove immediately from the liquid when the fish is cooked and allow to cool completely.

Roasting
Alternatively, if you don't have a fish kettle, you can oven-roast your salmon in foil to equally tasty effect.

• Place the cleaned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to encase the whole fish. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5 and place sliced lemon, oranges and onion in the cavity of the fish. Tuck in a handful of fresh herbs (use chervil, dill, parsley or tarragon).
• Bring the foil up around the fish and pour in a glass of white wine. Season with salt and pepper and tightly secure the foil to form a seal. Carefully lift onto a large baking sheet.
• The baking time can be determined by measuring the widest part of the 'neck' of the fish. Bake for 5 minutes per 2.5cm. When done, loosen the foil and allow to cool completely.

When I blind-bake sweet pastry, it always shrinks and the sides fall down. What am I doing wrong?

If your pastry is always shrinking, you’re probably over-working it. Gluten, the protein found in flour, becomes stretchy when handled (like when you knead bread) and then shrinks back when cooked).

This is a particular problem with sweet pastry because it tends to fall apart more easily than savoury shortcrust pastry (because of the sugar) and requires more handling to roll it out and line the tin.

Here are some tips that may help:

• Make sure your ingredients and equipment (including your hands) are as cold as possible
• Work quickly but efficiently, trying to handle the pastry as little as possible
• Avoid stretching it while lining the tin by making sure it is rolled out to a large enough shape
• Most importantly, allow the pastry to rest, both before and after rolling it out

Roll the pastry between two pieces of cling film; this is particularly helpful if the pastry is too soft and crumbly. With practice you can use the cling film to lift the pastry into place in the tin, then remove the film and carefully press into place.