RECIPE: Salmon filets with Chive Cream Sauce from Le Cordon Bleu at Home

[I added this post to the Whisk Wednesdays section because of the Chive Cream Sauce. -SM]

I bought some salmon filets a couple weeks ago, and the first chance I've had to use them came last night when I was desperate for something fast and easy to make for dinner. It was Monday, you know? And I was worn out from a busy weekend and wishing I could just pull a few handfuls of grass up from the yard and say, "Here. Salad. Eat it."

I thawed out the salmon beforehand, and in a desperate bid to make it look AS IF I CARED (because let's be real: sometimes I just don't and I know you don't either, but adulthood is largely a matter of faking enthusiam for certain people, events and household tasks, don't you think?), I went paging through Le Cordon Bleu at Home to see if I could find an easy sauce for fish. Et voilà! I found one on page 204 and happened to have every single ingredient on hand.

This recipe was extremely simple and my entire family highly recommends it.

CHIVE CREAM SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon (I used 1 teaspoon dried tarragon)

DIRECTIONS:

Allow the cream to come to a simmer in a small saucepan. Season with salt and pepper; stir in the lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes -- KEEP AN EYE ON IT or you will have a sad mess on your cooktop. Remove from the heat and stir in the herbs.

That's it. Really. I promise. The sauce thickened upon standing and the herbs infused their flavor into the cream and the lemon flavor was very delicate, just perfect for fish.

I sautéed the thawed salmon in my cast iron skillet in a small amount of oil and two chopped scallions and two cloves of garlic, allowing it to cook for four minutes per side over a medium-low heat and sprinkling it with pepper and a little sea salt.

The salmon with the sauce was served -- unimaginatively, I admit -- with baked potatoes and green beans. But the green beans were the frozen variety, not from a can, so I think I deserve credit for that.