Swiss Salmon in Cream Sauce

Name: Swiss Salmon in Cream Sauce
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Swiss
Ingredients: 300g piece sashimi-grade salmon fillet, skin off; Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste; 25g butter; 1 brown onion, finely chopped; 1 carrot, peeled and diced; 1 teaspoon plain flour; ¼ cup dry white wine; 250g green peas, shelled (about 100g); ½ cup single cream; ½ bunch chives (about 2 tablespoons chopped); Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste; Noodles, steamed rice or spätzli, for serving

This delicious salmon in cream sauce recipe is inspired by a Swiss dish called voressen that’s usually made with lamb or chicken in the Emmental. Use sashimi-grade fish, which virtually all farmed salmon is, and allow it to just poach in the residual heat of the sauce for a succulent result. Salmon in cream sauce is delicious over buttered noodles (nüdeli in Swiss), with plain steamed rice or with spätzli as pictured here (see video below). Many of my favourite Swiss wines are made from chasselas, and the Terroir du Léman Amphore chasselas, from just across Lake Geneva in the French Savoy, is a wonderful match with this creamy salmon dish. Its gorgeous deep orange colour from a week or so skin contact looks beautiful alongside the salmon too.

Serves 2

Ingredients

300g piece sashimi-grade salmon fillet, skin off
Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
25g butter
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon plain flour
¼ cup dry white wine
250g green peas, shelled (about 100g)
½ cup single cream
½ bunch chives (about 2 tablespoons chopped)
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Noodles, steamed rice or spätzli, for serving

Method

Cut salmon into small bite-sized pieces, toss with 1 teaspoon salt flakes and set aside.
Melt butter in a small high-sided frying pan over medium heat.
Add onion and a good pinch of salt, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but without colouring.
Meanwhile, steam carrot for 3 minutes or so, until just tender.
Add flour to the onions and stir for 2 minutes.
Add wine and stir well to remove any bits stuck to the base of the pan.
Increase heat and, stirring constantly, boil for a minute or so, until most of the wine has evaporated.
Decrease heat to low, add peas, carrot and cream and stir well.
Increase heat and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 4 minutes, until peas are just tender.
Add salmon, submerging it as much as possible, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 5 minutes.
Check to see if it’s cooked through, if not, stir to ensure any salmon above the sauce line is now submerged in the sauce, cover and set aside for a further 5 minutes.
Stir in chives, taste and add, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Serve with noodles, steamed rice or spätzli.