Baked Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce

I love salmon and have a preference for wild salmon as opposed to farm-raised. As with most fish, I like to top it with a mild sauce that complements the fish. Never top fish, or anything for that matter, with a sauce that is going to overpower it. You want to enhance the flavors, not mask them.

With only a few ingredients, this sauce is extremely easy to make and just perfect with the salmon for a quick week-night dinner. The silky sauce makes it good enough to serve to company too.

Freeze any cooked leftover salmon to make salmon cakes another night.

Baked Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce
(Makes 4 servings.)

• 4 wild-caught, center cut salmon fillets
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Baked Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce

Place salmon in a shallow dish, skin side down, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on middle rack of preheated oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until salmon is cooked through, but not overdone.*

While the salmon is cooking place the cream and stock or broth in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. (If you prefer a thicker sauce, add a little slurry – a little broth mixed with a little cornstarch – to the simmering liquid and whisk in.)  Whisk in the mustard, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

When the salmon is cooked, plate and spoon sauce on fish. Sprinkle with more parsley if desired and serve.

*As a general rule of thumb, bake fish for about 20 minutes per inch of thickness. Salmon fillets are usually about 3/4 inch thick, taking around 15 minutes to cook through.