Dijon Dill Salmon
If you hate mustard, you should probably just stop reading now. This recipe will be the actual worst thing for you. Me- I am good with mustard, I was given no choice. Growing up, my mom always had 10 different bottles of mustard at our house (not even kidding). I am actually not even sure if I like mustard or if I have drilled into my mind that I am supposed to like it but, nonetheless, it is in my house now and I decided that I needed to cook something with it.
Mustard can be very overpowering so you have to pair it with the right fish. Salmon is a pretty fishy fish (at least I think so), so that is what I went with. Also, it’s literally all that I had in my house because, you know, quarantine.
As always, I started by defrosting my salmon, cutting it into two filets, and then sprinkling each side with salt and pepper.
When it comes to sauces, I love to concoct to see what pairs well and to try to come up with new flavors. Full disclosure, I had actually started this recipe trying to make a sauce with Hoisin, garlic and orange. It was V disgusting so I had to throw it and and start over. Hence, mustard sauce!
I bought these small bowls from Joanna Gaines’ section at target when we first moved into the house. Wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them but when you are a new homeowner, a basic B, and in the clutches of target…you often leave with hundreds of dollars worth of pure crap and then get home feeling like you blacked out and remember nothing that happened in that store. The plot twist is that these little numbers are some of my most used kitchen items. On top of using them for dipping sauces when we have people over, I have also used them as my staple pieces to mix up my concoctions. I will usually start by pulling random items out of the fridge that I think might pair well and laying everything out on the counter. Once I feel like I have a good starting lineup, I start dumping things into the bowl until I feel like I have a winner.
The lemon and dill are two items that I feel always pair well with salmon. After a daring taste test, I confirmed that they paired well with the mustard…phew. I added the half and half to thicken the sauce and to make it a little creamier. I had this container left over from making Mother’s Day quiches and was also looking for any reason to get it out of my house. The garlic comes into play because I am pretty sure I do not have the ability to restrain myself from cooking anything with garlic. It is a life source in my household and I try to look normal by constantly refilling this small, normal sized garlic container from the massive one that I buy at Costco and keep hidden from anyone who might judge me.
Alright, once I have a sauce concocted that I feel is edible, I am ready to start the salmon. I debated putting the sauce in the pan first and then cooking the salmon, but instead opted to go the safe route and add it at the end. Once my olive oil was heated in the pan, I added my salmon. I seared the first side for about 3 minutes, then flipped it once I could tell that there was a nice crust but the inside was still semi raw.
Pretty much immediately after flipping the salmon, I spooned the sauce over the top so that it could sit while the second side cooked. I did this rather than adding it after the salmon was fully cooked so that it had some time to soak in. The sauce is pretty thick so it sits on top of the fish nicely and only runs down the sides slightly, which is exactly what I wanted.
To finish, I just needed to figure out a side dish. I usually opt for rice when I make salmon because the sauce runs into the rice and everything pairs nicely. I didn’t feel like mustardy rice sounded appealing at all, so I opted to just heat up leftover buttered noodles that I had made the prior weekend when we had friends over. This was a staple dish for me growing up. Our special treat every year for our birthday was that we could pick whatever we wanted and my parents would cook it for us. I ALWAYS picked buttered noodles. I think it drove my parents crazy. “Kid, you can have whatever you want! Steak, lobster, anything!” But nope, I alway stuck to my guns on this one. Now that I’m older and no longer have the metabolism of a jackrabbit, I rarely let myself eat pasta, so when I have it I am on cloud nine!
So there you have it! Outside of concocting the sauce, this whole meal can be made in under 10 minutes. It was super easy and adding the pasta made for a more filling salmon dish that usual. It is certainly not something that I would eat every night because, you know, mustard, but it was a nice change up that day from our usual sauces. Buon Appetito!
INGREDIENTS:
2 Salmon Filets
4 T Dijon Mustard
1 T Half and Half
2 T Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Dried Dill
1/2 lemon, juiced (I had a massive Costco lemon so otherwise sub a whole lemon if it is smaller)
Salt
Pepper
2 T Olive Oil
