Salmon with Sour Cream Dill Sauce

One of my fave fish is salmon.  Yes, I am common.  I never claimed to be otherwise.

I eat it not for health reason but simply because it tastes so good.  But it can be an expensive fish so I wait for when it is on the promotions or the reduced items rack. 

Loads of people turn their noses up at the reduced items but I am telling you if you are on a budget, these are life-savers and can give you fantastic meals - if you cook them fast.

Just this week I had lovely roasted parsnips and parsnip mash over two meals.  Parsnips in Singapore are ridiculously expensive and can be rather hard to find.  I think Singaporeans are unfamiliar with this root vegetable and never acquired a taste for them.  So the supermarkets stock them in limited quantities, if at all, and there they languish.  

I love parsnips though.  So, when I saw a bunch of them with a reduced label at my local Cold Storage, I snatched them up faster than you could blink. 

Obviously the supermarket reduced the price as they were getting a little old and had to be consumed by the next day.  I had no problem with that.  It was less than S$3 for 3 parsnips!  That's amazing and I scored 3 meals out of these - roasted parsnip, mashed parsnips from the leftover roasted parsnips and a parsnip and zucchini ratatouille of sorts.  You just cook them on the day itself then pack them away properly for future meals.  See how that works out?

I also scored a lovely piece of shin beef at reduced prices.  Like the parsnips, they had to consumed immediately.  Again, I had no problem with that and made a brilliant stew from it that very day.

So anyway, I'd purchased a pack of salmon fillets earlier this week which was on promotion.  Admittedly, it was not the cheapest but I really had a craving for salmon so I broke out the piggy bank.  Even then, S$4.38 for three salmon fillets is not too shabby.

I decided to cook them with loads of vegetables ... but I had to indulge my need for cream.  So I decided to do a variation of one of my classic, signature sauces.  I made a sour cream dill sauce instead of my usual creamy, dilly cheese sauce. It was yummy but I still miss my creamy dilly cheese sauce.  Maybe its time to go buy some cheese ...

Salmon with Sour Cream Dill Sauce

3 salmon fillets

1 small red onion, peeled, topped and thinly sliced

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 cup French beans, topped and cut into 3-inch sections

About 4 tbsp sour cream

About 2 tbsp white wine

About 1 tsp chicken stock granules

About 2 tbsp butter, cut into cubes

About 1/2 tbsp fresh dill, snipped or 3/4 tsp dried dill weed

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

1.  Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper.

2.  Heat some butter and olive oil.  Pan fry the salmon fillets. 

If you like them a bit undone in the middle, pan fry them on high heat to sear till you see about 2mm of the base of the fillet turn opaque, before you flip them over.  It really depends on how thick your fillets are.  If you like them well carboned, cook them on medium and flip them over when half of the fillet turns opaque.

Remember to pan fry the skin side to crisp and cook the skin.

3.  Remove from pan and plate.  Keep warm but do net continue to cook or they will dry out.

4.  Saute half the onions in the remaining oil till slightly soft.  Add a bit more oil if needed.

5.  Add the cauliflower floret and saute gently.  Add a little water and chicken granules, cover and let it steam in its own juices till slightly softened.

6.  Add the French beans and continue to saute till they turn a more vivid green.  You want a bit of crunch to the vegetables to complement the silkiness of the sauce and salmon.

7.  Remove from pan and plate with the salmon.

8.  Add the rest of the onions to the pan and saute till tender.  Do not bun the buggers. 

9.  Add the white wine & dill (reserve 1/2 tsp of dill if you are using fresh dill) and bring to the boil, then turn down to heat 

10.  Add the sour cream.  If it is too liquidy, reduce it a little till it is slightly thick.

11.  Start adding the butter cubes a little at a time, whisking them in to thicken and gloss the sauce. Season to taste at this point with the chicken granules & pepper.

12.  Pour the sauce over the salmon and vegetables and sprinkle the rest of the fresh dill on top.

Here's a tip.  This sauce is incredible over rice.  I usually cook rice with it.  I know it is a little incomprehensible.  Believe me, the first time I had it over rice, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I had always had it with pasta or bread but on rice ... holy cow ...

You can use any vegetables you like with this sauce.  I used cauliflower and French beans because I have loads which need to be consumed asap.  I've cooked it many times with mushrooms as an hor 'doeuvres (make the sauce thicker and pour over mushrooms and bake in the oven, then serve with baguettes) and I swear they disappear the instant they hit the table.

I love this sauce.  I just wish it was not so sinful.  One of these days I have to come up with a healthy variation.

Yeah right.