Salmon With Basil Champagne Cream Sauce
photo by WiGal
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
-
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
- 1⁄4 cup shallot, chopped
- 2 cups dry champagne
- 2 cups whipping cream
- salt and pepper
-
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASIL-PINE NUT MIXTURE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup pine nuts
- 1 cup packed fresh basil
- salt and pepper
-
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SALMON AND ASSEMBLY
- 4 (8 ounce) salmon steaks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1⁄2 cup chives or 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
directions
-
TO PREPARE THE SAUCE:
- Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the shallots.
- Saute for 3 minutes. Increase heat to high. Stir in the Champagne. Boil for 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Add the cream; mix well.
- Cook for 8 minutes or until thickened and of sauce consistency, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- May cover and store in the refrigerator at this point for 1 day.
-
TO PREPARE THE BASIL-PINE NUT MIXTURE:
- Process the olive oil, pine nuts and basil in a food processor until finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.
-
TO PREPARE THE SALMON:
- Brush the steaks with the olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange on a rack in a broiler pan.
- Broil for 3 minutes on each side or until the salmon flakes easily.
-
TO ASSEMBLE:
- Sprinkle the salmon with the basil-pine nut mixture, pressing gently to adhere.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer. Stir in the chives or green onions. Spoon the sauce onto plates; top with the salmon.
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Reviews
-
DH and I love salmon so this was a wonderful “fine dining experience�. It was deliciously moist. My man has already said that he wants me to make this again. I appreciate that parts of it can be made ahead. The revisions I made for the Make It Healthier Tag were: for the sauce I used unsalted butter instead of regular butter, fat free half and half instead of whipping cream, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. I did revise the pesto mixture-mainly to disguise the green factor a tad b/c DH does not like “too much green� so I used 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of pine nuts, and 2 tablespoons of chopped basil, and a sprinkle of salt free lemon pepper. BTW my husband did not scrape it off and liked it. For the salmon, I prepared it 30 minutes beforehand- I laid it on foil and brushed on 1 tablespoon instead of 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and then sprinkled on 1 tablespoon of champagne, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. I baked the salmon still wrapped in foil at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Now I wonder if I could have skipped the oil completely on the salmon. Thank you Nyteglori for a wonderful recipe:)
Tweaks
-
DH and I love salmon so this was a wonderful fine dining experience. It was deliciously moist. My man has already said that he wants me to make this again. I appreciate that parts of it can be made ahead. The revisions I made for the Make It Healthier Tag were: for the sauce I used unsalted butter instead of regular butter, fat free half and half instead of whipping cream, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. I did revise the pesto mixture-mainly to disguise the green factor a tad b/c DH does not like too much green so I used 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of pine nuts, and 2 tablespoons of chopped basil, and a sprinkle of salt free lemon pepper. BTW my husband did not scrape it off and liked it. For the salmon, I prepared it 30 minutes beforehand- I laid it on foil and brushed on 1 tablespoon instead of 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and then sprinkled on 1 tablespoon of champagne, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. I baked the salmon still wrapped in foil at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Now I wonder if I could have skipped the oil completely on the salmon. Thank you Nyteglori for a wonderful recipe:)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Married mother of twins. I very seldom ever use recipes as they are written, always modifying and adjusting them. Many times I will take three or four different recipes and come up with a new recipe based on those.
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