I often combine classical French techniques with more traditional, old-fashioned recipes and ingredients from my country, Estonia. To create our Salmon 132°F dish, for instance, I use Norwegian salmon, soak it in very salty water and cook it in a dry oven at 58 degrees celsius (it's important, though, that the internal temperature of the salmon only reaches 42 degrees celsius). This part of the process, particularly salting the fish, is conventional practice in Estonia. To plate it, however, we use a French presentation technique known as a Ballotine to form the salmon into a cylindrical shape.
We create another preparation of salmon for this dish with mustard and dill sauce, as well—the flavor complements the smoked salmon, but the texture contrasts. We finish the dish with apple cider jelly, Granny Smith apple and a horseradish mousse. The end result—tangy, sweet and smoky—is like walking into a garden and experiencing all the complementary scents and flavors at once. The presentation is visually consistent with French technique, but the flavors are reminiscent of Northern Europe.