Hello everybody!
This is my first post on the blog . Actually, it is the first time I write something to be shared publicly so bear with me as my fingers are almost shaking with every letter I type.
Throughout this blog, I want to share with you my passion for food & what I have learnt & still learning with all the delicious recipes I developed in this journey.
Every recipe I develop has a place in my heart as for me cooking is not just a family obligation; it is more of my comfort & creativity zone. When I am stressed, depressed or even the happiest person on earth, I cook.
This Salmon dish has the biggest chunk of my heart!
I spent all my life hating salmon or let’s say refusing to taste it until my honeymoon when my husband convinced me to give it a try! Let me tell you how much he regretted this decision as I spent my whole vacation eating nothing for dinner but salmon. I so know he wished he never introduced me to such beautiful delicate juicy fish.
Until today, every time I eat salmon, I remember my honeymoon (those romantic over the moon days that we live only once, you know?) so I found no better recipe to start this blog with other than my favorite oven baked salmon with butter lemon sauce.
On a another note, THANK GOD my special meal is a healthy one as salmon is packed with Omega 3 & many other proteins, vitamins & minerals. NOT ONE OF THOSE JUNK MEALS!
It’s a healthy delicious & easily cooked fish, lucky me!
Yet, it is one of the most delicate fish & requires just minutes to cook otherwise it turns into chewy rubber & loses its unique taste & juiciness.
In this recipe, I chose to cook the salmon in the oven because cooking it over the stove is just a nightmare! You end up spending hours cleaning the oil splatter all over the kitchen & still IT WILL SMELL HORRIBLE!
Pop it in the oven & minutes later enjoy your dinner without worrying about any cleaning!
Salmon & Butter Lemon Sauce …simply a match made in heaven!
After spending a full 2 weeks eating salmon with butter lemon sauce, I had to come up with a homemade version. It took me months (I think actually a whole year) to perfect the sauce; it either came out too heavy or too acidic & never the right consistency! Finally after almost giving up, I nailed it yaaaaaaaaay :)
Surprise! It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare!
If you taste the sauce alone, you will think its too acidic but just spoon it over the salmon & you will simply fall in love with this perfect balance!
OVEN BAKED SALMON WITH BUTTER LEMON SAUCE
Ingredients:
For the Salmon:
- 2 salmon fillet
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt & pepper
For the Butter Lemon Sauce:
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cold butter separated
- 1/3 cup cream
- Salt & pepper
- 1 Tbsp dill chopped (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C for about 5-8 minutes until hot.
- In a baking tray, place the salmon with the marinade ingredients.
- Lower the oven temperature to 180 degrees C & place the salmon tray on the middle rack.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes* until its color becomes light pink (open the broiler for a couple of minutes to have a nice golden color on the top).
- Meanwhile, prepare the butter lemon sauce: heat the lemon juice in a small pan over medium heat until reduced to half.
- Hold the pan above the stove flame, add 1 tbsp butter & swirl the pan slowly to dissolve it. Once the butter dissolves, add the second tbsp & swirl to dissolve it completely. You will now have a yellow creamy sauce.
- Put the pan back on the flame & reduce heat to low. Add the cream & bring to a very low simmer (DON’T BOIL).
- Turn off the heat, season with salt & pepper.
- Take the salmon out of the oven, drizzle with the butter lemon sauce + dill & serve immediately.
Notes:
- The salmon cooking time might decrease or increase a minute or 2 depending on the thickness of your salmon.
- The butter lemon sauce has to be served immediately otherwise the sauce will thicken.
