Start This Recipe about an hour before you want to eat it
Dinner Table Rating 
1 thumb per family member
Cook’s Rating 
Accessibility of ingredients, ease of preparation, and affordability
I had high hopes for this recipe. It sounded so delicious on paper, just perfect for a light, summer dinner. I even invited company for dinner. We were all a little disappointed when it didn’t live up to our expectations. It’s not that it was bad. It just didn’t go anywhere. It was like reading a book with characters and plot lines that have been explored countless times before. You know these characters, you know how they will interact with each other, and you know how it will end. Not bad, just predictable.
If that’s what you’re hankering for for dinner, something bland and predictable, then I can recommend trying this recipe. Otherwise I suggest saving that delicious filet of wild salmon (you know, the one that cost you $25?) for a more intriguing dish.
I debated about awarding the Ease of Preparation star. I find recipes where I have to transfer things from dish to dish rather tedious. This one has a fair amount of transferring. In the end I decided that there’s nothing really difficult about transferring the sauce and the fish, it’s just my own dislike of doing it that made it distasteful. So I gave it the star. What can I say, I’m a very giving person.
Wild Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce (page 275, Nourishing Traditions)
- 1 filet of wild salmon about 1 1/3 pounds
- 2 cups fish stock (homemade or commercial)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 shallots finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes chopped
- sea salt and pepper
1. Butter a pyrex dish and set the filet, skin side down, in the dish.
We have a largish family, and we were having a friend over for dinner, so I chose to double this recipe. Which is why I have two salmon filets in my photo. Living in the Rocky Mountains, I don’t know a whole lot about seafood. It’s hard to find good seafood here that’s affordable, so I don’t cook with it very often. If I did do a lot of seafood cooking, I’d probably use this nifty website. You can click on a type of seafood and it will take you to a page with oodles of information–nutritional information, sustainability status, life cycle and habits and even interesting little tidbits about the species. For example, did you know that a Chinook Salmon often weighs over 40 pounds?? 40 pounds!! That’s how much my 7-year-old weighs. Can you imagine catching something that big with a fly rod??
2. Bring stock to a boil and pour over the filet. If the liquid doesn’t entirely cover the fish, add filtered water.
I’ve never bought fish stock so wasn’t really sure where to find it. I was pleased to find it in the freezer of our local Whole Foods store. I had to add water and ended up with about half stock and half water in each pan. You do want your liquid to be boiling when you put it in the pan–this jump starts your cooking process. So if you have to add water, be sure to boil it first.
3. Set in a 325 degree oven and poach until jut tender, from 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filet. While the salmon is cooking, saute shallots a few minutes in butter, add the tomato bits and cook a few minutes more.
This recipe uses poaching to cook the fish. Poaching is an old technique in which something is cooked while immersed in gently boiling liquid. I found this webpage most informative about how to properly poach fish.
Are you familiar with shallots? They taste a bit like a red onion, only a bit more delicate. If your grocery store doesn’t have shallots, just use red onion. And I felt the quantity of shallots called for to be a bit much. I used four, and that was with doubling the rest of the ingredients.
4. Check the fish for doneness with a fork (when it flakes easily, it’s done). Be careful not to overcook. Remove from the oven when the inside is still a little rare. Set the salmon on a heated platter, cover with a piece of parchment paper and keep in a warm oven while you prepare the sauce.
5. Strain the poaching liquid into the shallot mixture. Bring to a rapid boil and reduce the stock, skimming occasionally, until you have about a cup of liquid plus vegetables. Season to taste.
Sally doesn’t mention any time estimates here, which threw off my dinner plans. I had allowed about 10 minutes for boiling down the stock, but it took more like 30. I did have double the sauce, so maybe that accounts for part of it. Anyway, just be sure to leave yourself plenty of time.
I’d love to know if anyone else enjoys this dish more than we did. If you try it, please share your thoughts.
