Meagan Hollingsworth

Meagan Hollingsworth of Richmond, Mich.          
A Taste of Michigan
 
Hollingsworth attends Richmond High School, where she is the president of her Culinary Arts team. Cooking runs in the family; her father is an executive chef at the Best Western Sterling Inn & Loch River Café. Hollingsworth says, “His positive attitude and outlook on life makes my culinary experiences that much more worth it.” She adds, “I love garde manger, but outside culinary arts, I love to hunt and cook for my friends … so I never actually get out of the culinary world!
 
Her recipe was originally submitted in the Taste of the States category. The dish includes tomato roasted salmon on a bed of herbed cabbage, topped with a white wine saffron reduction sauce.
 
Tomato Roasted Michigan Salmon
Ingredients
4, 6-ounce salmon filets, skinless
1/4 onion, diced fine
1 tablespoon salad oil
1 tablespoon basil fresh and chopped
1 egg white
5 Roma tomatoes: 3 sliced thin and no seeds, 2 peeled and deseeded then diced
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup water
8 asparagus peeled and blanched
1 Michigan potato, peeled and sliced thin into 8 pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
4 sprigs of basil
 
Method of Preparation
1. Cut salmon filets into half, side to side. Remove the belly fat if any.
2. Using round 2 and 1/2-inch aluminum molds, cut eight circles of salmon and dice the remaining salmon.
3. Take half of the onion and place into sauté pan with oil, sauté with basil until onions are clear, and remove. When onions are cool, add with diced salmon and egg white, and mix well.
4. Reserve eight slices of tomatoes and chop the remaining and add to a sauce pan.
5. Add the remaining half of the onion, as well as the white wine, water and asparagus into a pan. Place on low heat and let simmer. Place potato slices into mixture and poach until done, then remove.
6. Season the broth with salt and pepper and place into food blender. Puree until sauce is smooth, remove and place on the side.
7. Place four ring molds onto an oiled pan. Place one piece of salmon into each ring.
8. Split the chopped salmon and egg white mixture between the four rings.
9. Top with a piece of poached potato, then the second piece of salmon. Season with salt and pepper and top with two slices of tomato on each salmon ring, then top with Old Bay.
10. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes; halfway through, top with tomato sauce.
11. Remove from molds; take diced tomatoes and sauté with salt and pepper. Cook until hot and top over salmon. Place a sprig of basil on top of each salmon mold.
 
Saffron Poached Potato
Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 tablespoon saffron
8 slices potato, cut moon shape
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
 
Method of Preparation
1. Place water, wine, and saffron into sauce pan. Place potatoes into broth and poach until tender.
2. When potatoes are fully cooked, take them out and then reduce the liquid in the pan to a syrupy texture.
3. When serving potatoes, place olive oil on plate and drizzle reduction onto the oil.
 
Herbed Cabbage in Cream Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 head white cabbage, julienned
2 tablespoons salad oil
2 sprigs fresh basil, chopped fine
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons garlic, pureed
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Method of Preparation
1. Sauté cabbage in a large frying pan with salad oil. Add basil to cabbage and stir.
2. Let cook for 1 minute, then add cream. Stir constantly until cream is thick.
3. Add garlic and season with salt and pepper.
 
Steamed Asparagus and Peas
Ingredients
8 pieces of asparagus, trimmed and peeled
1/2 cup peas
1 tablespoon whole butter
Pinch of salt and white pepper
 
Method of Preparation
1. Steam asparagus and peas in a steamer for 4 minutes.
2. Season with salt, butter, and pepper.