First, get your oven warmed up to 220C (450F?). We'll be placing the salmon into the oven to fully cook at the end and it needs to be hot.
Next, prepare the vegetables ...
Cauliflower steaks are quite simply thick slices of cauliflower. Take your cauli and chop is straight through the middle. Take a slice about an inch either side of that middle line, trimming off the greens for later, but importantly, retaining the full structure. Par boil and then set aside ... we'll colour it up and cook it through later.
Other vegetables: asparagus, carrot, radish and spring onion. Simply boil some thin carrot slices and a few spears of asparagus. Slice some radish and spring onion. Set aside ... we'll finish it all off later. You've got it! Any veggies you like, just pre-cook them all for warming through later.
Good, so we've par-boiled and pre-cooked pretty much the whole dish, so the rest should be relatively hassle-free.
Let's look at the salmon ...
I started with a loin of salmon; a piece little over six inches long and maybe five inches wide, thick at one side, thin at the other. This is for two people.
Slice the loin in half from the thick side to the thin side so that you have two smaller pieces. Slice each half in half again so you have four portions.
Now, put two pieces together like a yin yang and secure with string tied around. You can be firm with the string, but no too tight or it will tear through the thin side.
Ready?
Take two skillets, butter in each (I'll leave the amount up to you ... but more is most certainly welcome) and gently fry off the cauliflower steaks. You don't want the heat too high, just gently warm it through and it will take on some colour in the process. This will take about 5 minutes each side. Turn after 5, naturally.
In another skillet or frying pan, add some of your favourite paleo frying fat (goose fat, for me) and sear the top and bottom of the salmon medallion. Don't worry about the sides - we'll let the heat of the oven do that.
Go with a couple of minutes on each side, nice and high to get a good colour on the faces. Transfer to the oven for another 5-6 minutes, by which time the cauli should have cooked through.
In yet another pan, add a splash of water (or even white wine) and just warm the veggies through. I said "a splash" ... just a little liquid will do fine and should all evaporate in the process. Retrieve the now hot vegetables.
Finally, same pan, drop in a some butter with a squeeze of lemon juice and some capers. Warm through and allow a little colour to come into the butter. Brown, not burned!
Have faith! So long as you pre-warmed the oven, the salmon will be fine. It will be cooked all around and the middle just soft and perfect.
Plate up ...
Cauli steak down first, asparagus over, other veggies around the side, salmon on top of the asparagus and spoon the butter sauce all over, garnishing with dill. An alternative to the brown butter could be Hollandaise and chives would work better than dill in that scenario.
