Fish is not my favorite thing to cook, as it either splatters butter and oil all over the stove or I’m stuck with an aroma issue in the house for days. It’s also a crime to overcook a nice piece of fish, and I have anxiety about that. Hence this week’s poaching experiment.
These beautiful salmon filets from Montana Fish Company went into a wine bath with sprigs of parsley, dill, and lemon, simmered gently for a few minutes, then onto a plate and into the fridge. Depending on your preference and the day’s timing, you can serve the salmon just poached and warm, or go for the fridge chill – your choice. Delicious either way.
Butter lettuce leaves and a lemon crème fraîche dressing are tasty accompaniments, but a dollop of homemade mayonnaise and quickly blanched asparagus spears would be good too. Choose veggies that are fresh and seasonal where you are, blanch quickly so they retain some crispness, and you can’t go wrong. You can even pretend you’re in the South of France and put on “Le Grand Aioli“, as shared in this Edible Seattle article. (Just remember to toss some garlic into your mayonnaise to be official.)
Enjoy! And remember this recipe for the hot days of summer. Poach in the cool of the morning then dinner is as easy as pouring the rosé and arranging fresh veggies on chilled plates.
Ingredients
- 2 salmon filets, 6 oz. each is a good size
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 10 parsley sprigs
- 10 dill sprigs
- 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
- ½ lemon, thinly sliced (save the other half for serving)
- sea salt for seasoning filets
Instructions
- Sprinkle each salmon filet with a couple pinches of sea salt.
- Add wine, parsley, dill, peppercorns and lemon slices to a sauté pan (choose one with a lid) and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn down heat, wait for boiling to stop and add the salmon filets, skin side down. Adjust heat to bring poaching liquid to a simmer and cover pan with lid. Poach for 6 minutes, remove pan from heat, and keep covered for 2 more minutes. Check that fish is cooked to your desired doneness by flaking back a center piece with a fork. If not done, return pan to heat and simmer for another minute or two until done to your satisfaction.
- Remove filets from poaching liquid onto a plate. Serve warm or cover plate with plastic wrap and set it in refrigerator to chill.
