I don't know what I was thinking when I made this dish. It was the middle of summer, tomatoes and other summer produce was in abundance at the local Farmers' Market and I had just made tomato water with a friend.

This dish is almost like a soup. Once you cut into the salmon, it begins to break apart and settle into the seared veggies, swimming around the pool of transparent tomato juice. It's so pretty and so simple and so light and clean, that it's clear it's an impossibly summer dish.

If you do not have the tomato water lying around, do not worry. You can either completely omit it, or substitute a mixture of half tomato juice and half chicken, fish or vegetable stock, seasoned with a bit of salt, pepper and lemon juice. It won't be clear, but it will approximate the taste and texture. Plus ... it'll still be pretty! ☺

Note: I mention chiffonade of basil. It's basically basil that's been cut into strips. You can see the method, here.