Nut-Crusted Salmon With Ginger Butter Sauce
Why I Love This Recipe
This came out of a recent Bon Appetit; it's got a great blend of flavors - creamy, mildly spicy, nutty. I was a bit skeptical at first, but this taste of the South Pacific won me over, and with a little prep it's easy enough for a weeknight for four.
Ingredients You'll Need
SAUCE
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped shallots (about 2 whole)
6 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp peeled minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 tbsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
FISH:
1/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp fresh lime juice
4 skinless salmon fillets (about 6- to 7-oz each)
Directions
FOR SAUCE: Boil first six ingredients in heavy medium saucepan until almost all liquid evaporates, about 4 minutes. Add cream; bring to boil. Strain into heavy small saucepan.
FOR FISH: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Combine nuts, olive oil, brown sugar, honey and lime juice in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Heat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Cook salmon until browned on one side, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn salmon over; top with nut mixture, pressing to adhere. Bake until salmon is opaque in center, about 7 minutes (if nut mixture isn’t browned enough, place under broiler briefly).
Meanwhile, bring sauce to a simmer; remove from heat. Add butter a few tablespoons at a time, whisking until melted smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer fish to plates. Spoon sauce around fish and serve.
The sauce is very dairy-heavy, almost like condensed milk but not nearly as thick. You might find that cutting back on the cream by up to half is more to your liking. The resulting sauce isn't quite as thick, but will be brighter.
