This is a quick dish, so start on the side dishes early. Fresh dill is better of course, but this dish will still be tasty if made with dried dill. I am not a fan of seafood, salmon, trout and halibut is pretty much what I willing to eat from the water, but even I enjoyed a small piece of this wild sockeye tonight. It was a hot day and I wanted minimal cooking so the choice fell on a fish recipe from my 2000 edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. The sauce also called for an egg yolk, but I felt it would have been a superfluous addition. So in the end, it is even lower in fat than the original. I forgot to measure out the fish stock, so I am not sure if I used less than or more than 1 cup for the sauce. Sometimes I fall back on my intuition and fail in accuracy.
POACHED SALMON WITH DILL SAUCE
2-4 servings of dressed salmon
4 thick slices of fresh lemon
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1 bunch of fresh dill weed or 1 Tbsp dried
• Rinse salmon and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place the lemon slices, bay leaf in a large skillet.
• Place the salmon with skin down on top of the lemon slices.
• Add enough water to come halfway up to the salmon.
• Sprinkle with salt.
• Bring to a steady simmer and cover the pan.
• Salmon cooks rather fast, so keep an eye on it.
• Aim for slightly undercooked fish. With a fork, gently pry open the thickest part of the fish. If you see a little bit of pink, but most of the fish is cooked through, remove skillet from heat.
• Quickly pour off about a cup of liquid into a small bowl and set it aside.
• Replace the lid; and set the fry pan aside. The salmon will cook through from the residual heat from the pan.
• Next, make the dill sauce.
• In a separate medium sized skillet, melt the butter and stir in the flour.
• Add the sugar and the dill weed.
• Pour in the reserved salmon broth and mix to combine.
• Bring to a slow boil and adjust the salt.
• Remove dill sauce from heat.
• With a large slotted spoon, gently move the salmon pieces onto plates or to a serving platter.
• Pour the dill sauce on the top and serve immediately.
4 thick slices of fresh lemon
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1 bunch of fresh dill weed or 1 Tbsp dried
• Rinse salmon and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place the lemon slices, bay leaf in a large skillet.
• Place the salmon with skin down on top of the lemon slices.
• Add enough water to come halfway up to the salmon.
• Sprinkle with salt.
• Bring to a steady simmer and cover the pan.
• Salmon cooks rather fast, so keep an eye on it.
• Aim for slightly undercooked fish. With a fork, gently pry open the thickest part of the fish. If you see a little bit of pink, but most of the fish is cooked through, remove skillet from heat.
• Quickly pour off about a cup of liquid into a small bowl and set it aside.
• Replace the lid; and set the fry pan aside. The salmon will cook through from the residual heat from the pan.
• Next, make the dill sauce.
• In a separate medium sized skillet, melt the butter and stir in the flour.
• Add the sugar and the dill weed.
• Pour in the reserved salmon broth and mix to combine.
• Bring to a slow boil and adjust the salt.
• Remove dill sauce from heat.
• With a large slotted spoon, gently move the salmon pieces onto plates or to a serving platter.
• Pour the dill sauce on the top and serve immediately.
