Steamed Salmon Sauce
Submitted by catbird
Steamed salmon in orange-tomato sauce poaches skinless salmon fillets over a bright reduction of orange juice, white wine, garlic, and plum tomatoes, perfumed with fresh basil. A light, low-fat 35-minute weeknight dinner.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
25 minREADY
35 minSteamed salmon sauce flips the usual fish recipe on its head. Instead of pan-searing the salmon and pouring sauce on top, the sauce is built first in a wide pan and the fish gets steamed directly on top of the simmering liquid. The result is salmon that stays silky and tender, with the orange, white wine, and tomato aromatics rising up to perfume the fillets as they cook.
The sauce reduction is where the flavor concentrates. Cooking the orange juice and wine down to a quarter cup before adding the tomatoes deepens the citrus into something almost candied and balances the brightness of the orange against the savory aromatics. A single basil leaf laid on each piece of fish releases its fragrance into the steam.
Pro Tips
- Pull the fish at 8 minutes if your fillets are on the thinner side. Salmon goes from silky to chalky in about 90 seconds of overcooking.
- Use freshly squeezed orange juice. Bottled juice has a metallic flavor that doesn’t reduce well.
- Tilt the lid slightly off the pan if the sauce is reducing too fast under the steaming fish. You want a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil.
- Serve the fish on a bed of the sauce, not under it. Spooning sauce over the top hides the silky texture you worked to preserve.
Variations
- Swap salmon for arctic char, steelhead trout, or a thick cut of cod. Adjust steaming time for thickness.
- Add a tablespoon of capers and a splash of caper brine to the sauce for a brinier, more Sicilian lean.
- Use blood orange juice when in season for a deeper, more dramatic color and a slightly less sweet finish.
Ingredients
Directions
IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN SIMMER ¼ CUP CHOPPED ONIONS, 2 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES, AND 1 TABLESPOON FINELY GRATED ORANGE ZEST IN ½ CUP ORANGE JUICE AND ½ CUP WHITE WINE UNTIL REDUCED TO ¼ CUP.
ADD 4 CHOPPED CANNED PLUM TOMATOES AND SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.
SEASON FOUR, FOUR OUNCE PIECES OF SKINLESS SALMON FILETS WITH SALT AND PEPPER, AND DRIZZLE WITH ONE TEASPOON VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.
TOP EACH PIECE OF FISH WITH A BASIL LEAF AND PLACE ON THE SIMMERRING SAUCE.
COVER AND STEAM FOR EIGHT TO TEN MINUTES, UNTIL THE FISH I OPAQUE AND FLAKES TO A GENTILE TOUCH.
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