Poaching is a moist-heat cooking technique that preserves moisture and adds flavor to food without adding fat. The food being poached is submerged in liquid and gently cooked. This fat-free method of preparing protein quickly and easily is a perfect technique for cooking fish, lean, as well as fatty.
Piccata is the term for a lemony sauce served over protein. It typically includes butter, wine and capers. The version in this recipe uses sour cream instead of butter, lowering the fat & calorie content, but preserving the flavor.
Before I get to the recipe, a little story about the capers. A while back, I picked up a jar of capers at the grocery store when I was trying out potato salad & deviled egg recipes. That little jar was pretty expensive and didn’t have very much in it. I subsequently discovered a rather large jar of capers for sale at the warehouse club where I do some of our grocery shopping. That large jar was only slightly more money than the small jar at the grocery store. The bargain was too good to pass up, so I bought the 32-ounce jar. Eric was not thrilled with my purchase. While I was looking at it from a savings point-of-view, he was looking at how long it would take to use up that jar with 155 tablespoons of capers in it. (A typical recipe only uses about a tablespoon of capers.) Good thing we like capers and have a bunch of recipes calling for the little pickled flower buds!
Poached Salmon Piccata
Poached Salmon Piccata (adapted from EatingWell.com) Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 pound salmon filet, skinned and cut into 4 portions
- 1 cup dry white wine, divided
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
- fresh dill or parsley for garnish
Preparation:
Place the salmon in a large skillet. Add 1/2 cup of the wine with enough water to just cover the salmon. Bring the liquid just to a boil over high heat and immediately reduce the heat to allow the liquid to simmer. Turn the salmon over, cover it, and cook it for 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, transfer the salmon to a plate, cover it to keep it warm, and set it aside.
Poach the salmon on water & wine.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of wine and the dill weed to the pan. Boil the mixture until is is slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir in the lemon juice and the capers. Cook for 1 minute more.
Add the lemon juice and capers.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the sour cream and salt.
The sour cream adds a creamy twist to the piccata sauce.
To serve, top the salmon with the sauce and garnish with some fresh dill or parsley.
Love this creamy take on piccata!
This is a quick & delicious week night meal! ~Linda
Poached Salmon Piccata (adapted from EatingWell.com) Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 pound salmon filet, skinned and cut into 4 portions
- 1 cup dry white wine, divided
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed
- 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
- fresh dill or parsley for garnish
Preparation:
Place the salmon in a large skillet. Add 1/2 cup of the wine with enough water to just cover the salmon. Bring the liquid just to a boil over high heat and immediately reduce the heat to allow the liquid to simmer. Turn the salmon over, cover it, and cook it for 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, transfer the salmon to a plate, cover it to keep it warm, and set it aside.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup of wine and the dill weed to the pan. Boil the mixture until is is slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir in the lemon juice and the capers. Cook for 1 minute more.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the sour cream and salt. To serve, top the salmon with the sauce and garnish with some fresh dill or parsley.