Poached Salmon Provençal
My dear friend and colleague Janice Wald Henderson created this dish as her answer to dinnertime woes. Quick, colorful, and bursting with flavor, this silky poached salmon is topped with a colorful tangle of Mediterranean vegetables. I like to serve it with steamed baby potatoes.
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
- ½ pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 1 pound red and/or yellow tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 2 pounds salmon fillet, or four ½-pound fillet pieces, skin and pin bones removed
- 2 cups dry white vermouth
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
- Seriously Simple Seasoning Salt or other seasoning salt to taste
Directions
1. To make the sauce: in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the fennel and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened and lightly golden. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, or until softened, Add the tomatoes and increase heat to high. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to fall apart and thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Put the salmon in a skillet just big enough to hold it. Add the dry vermouth, then enough water to cover the salmon. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Poach for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, about 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Just before serving, add the olives, seasoning salt, and ¼ cup poaching liquid to the sauce. Bring to a simmer over-medium-high heat and cook to reduce for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened.
4. Transfer the fish pieces to a platter or individual serving plates. Blot any excess liquid and spoon the sauce over. Serve immediately.
Advance Preparation:
May be prepared up to 4 hours ahead through Step 1. Set aside, covered, at room temperature.
The clever cook could:
1. Serve this chilled. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons vinaigrette to the sauce before serving.
2. Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces. Mix the salmon and sauce with hot pasta.
3. Add some vinaigrette to the above pasta dish and chill to serve as a pasta salad.
Related posts: