Marry me salmon
Marry me salmon is a skillet dish where the fillets sear first, then finish in a sauce built in the same pan from sun-dried tomatoes, cream and parmesan. The sear gives you a gold crust and the sauce keeps the flesh gentle, so a fillet that would dry out under a grill stays soft all the way through. Ask the counter for thick fillets cut from the middle of the side and we skin and pin-bone them free.
The timing is easier than it looks. You are aiming to take the salmon out of the pan while the centre is still a shade underdone, because the last few minutes in the simmering sauce carry it to the finish. Thick portions of even depth are what make that possible, which is why the cut matters more here than the recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, about 170g each, skinned and pin-boned (ask the counter, free)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 45g butter
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- a good pinch of chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 100ml dry white wine
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 400ml fish or chicken stock
- 80g sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 200ml double cream
- 50g parmesan, finely grated, plus a little to serve
- sea salt and black pepper
- chopped parsley to finish
Method
- Pat the fillets very dry on both sides and season them. A dry surface browns, a wet one steams.
- Heat the oil with a third of the butter in a wide pan over a medium heat. Lay the fillets in presentation side down and leave them for 4 to 5 minutes, until the underside is deep gold and the colour has turned opaque about halfway up the sides.
- Lift the fillets onto a plate, seared side up. The centres stay underdone at this stage because they finish in the sauce later.
- Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan and cook the onion for 2 minutes until it turns translucent. Add the garlic, chilli flakes, tomato purée and a pinch of salt, then stir for a minute until the purée darkens a shade and loses its raw edge.
- Pour in the wine and scrape the pan clean as it bubbles. Let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
- Scatter in the flour and stir for a minute or two until it disappears into the paste and the smell of raw flour goes.
- Add the stock a little at a time, stirring until smooth, then the sun-dried tomatoes and oregano. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the cream and parmesan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more until glossy.
- Slide the fillets back in seared side up and spoon the sauce around them. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. The salmon is ready when the flakes part under gentle pressure at the thickest point and the centre has turned from glassy to pearly.
- Take the pan off the heat and rest the fish in the sauce for 2 minutes. Finish with parsley and a little more parmesan.
To serve: A fillet per plate with the sauce spooned around it and the sun-dried tomatoes lifted out on top. Rice, crushed potatoes or bread all catch the sauce. A sharp green salad cuts through the cream. To drink, a dry Italian white like Vermentino or a light Barbera.
Shop this recipe: salmon, Chalkstream trout and the salmon hub. Cut to order at the counter, skinning and pin-boning free.
Photo: https://moribyan.com/
