“This dish utilizes a really simple technique of roasting salmon at a very low temperature,” says Jerry Traunfeld. “I pair it with a white wine and butter sauce and top it with rough chopped herbs. It’s an especially great recipe if you have an herb garden, but you can easily prepare it with herbs from the supermarket.”
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Wild King salmon fillet, or Sockeye
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temp
- 1/2 cup Fresh herbs (chives, French tarragon, mint, lemon thyme, lovage, chervil, sorrel, bronze fennel), plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the salmon for roasting: Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Remove the salmon skin by cutting a flap of skin from the tail end. Hold the skin with a kitchen towel for a good grip, then hold the knife at a 30-degree angle downward to the cutting board between the skin and the flesh. Move the towel back and forth so the knife cuts through the salmon without cutting off much of the flesh. Using tweezers or needle-nose pliers, pull out any small bones left in the salmon, then cut fillet into 4 even slices at an angle. Place salmon fillets into a shallow roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Rub the fish with the oil to evenly coat, then place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake 15–20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. Note: If the fish is cold from the refrigerator, let it come to room temp, about 30 minutes, before baking.
- Make the beurre blanc sauce and prepare the herbs: In a medium saucepan, add the shallot, white wine, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by half. While the liquid is reducing, chop the herbs. Any combination of herbs will work as long as they’re chopped roughly (not finely), to preserve their character and flavor. Once the liquid has reduced, whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, to thicken the sauce.
- Finish the sauce and assemble the dish: Salmon is cooked when it’s flaking apart gently and no longer raw in the middle. Set aside. Finish the sauce by pouring it into a blender to break up the shallots and create a better emulsion with the butter. Pour back into the pan over low heat and add the herbs. Place a salmon fillet on a serving plate, ladle herb sauce on top. Garnish with the additional fresh herbs and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 250 |
| Total Fat | 19 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg |
| Sodium | 259 mg |
Reviews
Delightful!
Made this the other night and it turned out flawless. I wish I had all the herbs he had, ended up with just cilantro and Thai basil and it worked great.