Poached Salmon with Creamy Chive Sauce and Pickled Cucumbers
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: Thursday, September 27, 2018 - 1:01pm

Ingredients




For the Pickled Cucumber:
1 cucumber
Salt
2 T sugar
3½ oz (100 ml) water
8½ oz (250 ml) rice wine vinegar
For the Poached Salmon:
4 6-ounce salmon fillets (about 170 g each)
Salt (I like to add enough to make it taste "ocean salty")
Optional: add a few springs of fresh dill and parsley for added flavor
For the Chive Sauce:
1 pint (475 ml) heavy cream
2¾ oz (80 g) butter
Salt and pepper
1 T fresh chives
Optional garnishes: fresh salmon eggs and lemon slices

Preparation

1 Peel the cucumber and slice into disks. Sprinkle the disks with salt and allow to marinate for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid. Mix the sugar, water and vinegar, pour over the sliced cucumber, and place in the fridge for half an hour. Drain and reserve. 2 Bring a pan of salted water (and fresh herbs if you're using) to a boil, then turn down the heat and add the salmon fillets. Allow to poach for about 8 minutes, until just tender. 3 Meanwhile, prepare the chive sauce. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer until reduced by half. Whisk in the butter, then add the fresh chives and season to taste. 4 Serve with boiled new potatoes and garnish each fillet with a slice of lemon and a spoon of salmon eggs (optional).

About

This classic Norweigian favorite is also the favorite dish of Viking Cruises Chairman Carl Hagan. This simple yet elegant dish is quite easy to prepare and in under 30 minutes. I like to add fresh herbs such as dill and flat leaf parsley to the poaching liquid, but just using salt is lovely too. Serve with boiled new potatoes and, for added elegance, salmon eggs for garnish. This recipe is courtesy of Viking Cruises.