Thursday, February 08, 2018

What's on the MENU this week. Poached Salmon with a Lemon & Herb Cream sauce

Most people nowadays sear their salmon and the art of gentle poaching fish is being lost. If done correctly, it is quick and keeps the fish soft and moist. We had this with some depodded baby broad beans, a tomato and basil salad and some duck fat confit potatoes. You can use any garden herbs from your garden in the sauce, but if you use very strong herbs like rosemary and basil, they will dominate and overshadow the delicate salmon.
1 small finely sliced onion - 1 medium carrot, finely chopped - 1 stalk celery, finely chopped - 2 bay leaves - 6 whole peppercorns - 1/2 cup dry white wine - water
4 salmon fillets (170 grams each) or one whole piece of salmon weighing 700g, deboned
In a 25 cm frying pan, combine the onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and dry white wine. Add enough water to come to a depth of approx 4 cm. Bring this to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper; place carefully in the pan skin side down and cover with a lid and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand until fillets are opaque, 8 to 12 minutes. Serve warm with the Lemon & Herb Cream sauce.
Lemon & Herb Cream sauce
200 ml double cream - 2 tspns reduced chicken or fish stock - 1 Tbspn chopped chives - 1 tspn chopped parsley - 1 tspn freshly chopped thyme - 1 tspn chopped lemon verbena - 1 to 2 tspns fresh lemon juice - salt and pepper.
Stir the stock into the double cream in a small sauce pan, then add the finely chopped herbs and then the lemon juice to taste. Warm through, do not boil or the sauce will split. Season to taste and serve.

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