Tuesday, August 5, 2008

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.

1 comment:

Kayte said...

Oh, I think you get credit for this whole meal...sounds really, really good...and see, YOU CAN BOIL CREAM! But, like you said, don't leave it alone or it will spit in your face and all over your stove!

Great menu...I'm stealing it.