[MUSIC PLAYING]
We're making salmon in collard greens
with creole mustard sauce.
How's that sound?
Absolutely amazing.
Great.
So a lot of people are used to having collard greens
that are cooked a long time with a big piece
of pork fat in them.
And I love this dish here because it's really fresh.
You get the collard greens taste.
But it also serves as a way to keep the salmon moist.
All right.
First, I'm going to remove this thick vein
in the middle of the collard green
and then we're going to blanch it.
So put it in hot water, then ice water.
That's warm.
A little bit of salt in this water here.
So my mom, she'd start them in the morning, then
we'd have them in the evening.
So they were cooked for a long time.
Is that how your mom did them? - Exactly.
But this way, the leaf stays green.
And we're going to get a nice little crunchy
bite when we pull it out.
That's not how our moms did it.
I know.
Well, sometimes, we gotta change stuff up.
We do.
And then it's going right in the ice
so they don't continue cooking.
And pull these out.
It's a real quick process.
Over to the paper towel here.
Spread it out.
And then we're going to prep the salmon.
You like salmon? - Love it.
So we're going to season it with a little salt on top,
some ground black pepper, and just a tiny bit of olive oil,
some fresh thyme leaves-- again, another herb that I love,
very aromatic.
It can be kind of delicate if you don't overuse it.
So we're going to make little envelopes
with the collard greens, presentation-side down.
We're going to kind of fold the leaves in like this.
Just make a little envelope.
We just want to make sure the flesh is covered.
Oops.
That one is sneaking out a little bit,
so I'm going to use a second leaf.
Have you had anything like this before, Bonnie?
I don't think so, Tanya.
Not with collard greens.
Yeah.
You're in for a treat.
Then I'm going to put it in the steamer basket
and do the next one.
Where did you get the collard green idea to wrap it?
It reminds me of when I was in France.
And there's a technique there called "en papillote,"
which is "in paper."
And it's a way of cooking fish, delicately
steaming it in paper.
And it's really the same method, except you
can eat the collard green.
Stick in the steamer, and we're going
to cover that and let it steam for about seven
or eight minutes.
The salmon, you're going to cook all the way through.
I really want it medium to medium rare.
OK.
Our salmon is ready.
The color's spectacular.
See?
This is what happens when you take your time.
You do every step, you know, the way it's supposed to be done.
Now the finishing touches, which is a creole mustard sauce.
Quarter of a cup.
Why is it creole?
It's made with brown mustard seeds.
That's your background, right, Tanya?
My mom's from Shreveport, and there's
definitely some influences from the New Orleans area.
But they're really different places.
But it's really like my heart because I love the fusion
of the cuisine of that area.
It's a little bit French.
There's German.
There's Italian.
There's African.
There's Caribbean.
It's down there, everybody.
It is.
And that's why it's so fun.
Squeeze some fresh lemon juice in here,
a couple of tablespoons.
And this is one of my favorite ingredients
to use in many things, roasted garlic.
I took a head of garlic, cut it in half, put it on a sheet pan
with a little olive oil, a little salt,
a little water to steam it up.
Then you just squeeze the cloves out.
You get this really nice, garlicky flavor.
Nice.
But it's kind of sweet and creamy,
and it thickens the sauce.
All right.
Let me get my cayenne in there.
Always a little bit of salt. We'll taste it at the end.
I'm going to chop some chives.
We're going to put about a tablespoon in the sauce,
and another tablespoon we're going to garnish the fish with.
It has just that nice little oniony finish.
Are you cooking much at home these days, Bonnie?
Tanya, I'm trying to get rid of their duty.
[LAUGHS]
My family is all over the place.
As you know, I have family in Detroit.
Let's talk about that visit, Tanya.
Oh, my gosh.
Let's talk about that rainy--
When you picked me up from the airport?
Rainy, thunderstorm, when the trees are on the road.
And I'm on my way to pick up Tanya.
There's nothing like being picked up at the airport
by a friend. Right?
All right.
I'm going to blend this and slowly
drizzle in some olive oil.
I can't wait.
That looks delicious.
So is it almost like a pesto?
It's more like a salad dressing.
You know, like a vinaigrette, because it
has the acid of the lemon.
Oh.
I can smell it.
Can you?
It smells delicious.
Oh, yeah, Tanya. - OK.
You ready for that?
I'm ready.
All right.
Let me get this salmon ready.
I like to present it with a nice slice like this.
I can feel the firmness, but I like
to make sure it's nice and pink in the middle, which is great.
It's not dried out.
And we're going to drizzle a little sauce over it.
There we go.
It's a real kind of rustic, easy sauce.
And some of the chives.