Creamy Salmon and Leek Braise with Potatoes
Salmon fillets gently simmered in a silky leek and cream sauce, with tender potatoes to soak it up. A comforting stovetop dinner that stays juicy and rich.
- Total
- 48 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 33
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Sweating · Simmering
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes. Trim the leek, slice it in half lengthwise, rinse out any grit, and cut it into 1 cm half-moons. Pick the dill leaves and chop them roughly.
~12 min
-
Heat the olive oil in a large lidded skillet over medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent but not browned, about 6 minutes.
~6 min
Sweating leek over medium heat without browning keeps it sweet and prevents bitterness from burnt edges.
Sweating Cook leek over medium heat until soft and translucent without browning; if it starts to colour, lower the heat.
-
Add the potatoes, 200 ml water, 0.5 tsp salt and the black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are almost tender when pierced with a knife, 12 to 14 minutes.
~14 min
Covering traps steam so potatoes cook evenly and the water reduces into a flavourful base.
Simmering Keep a gentle simmer with small bubbles; a hard boil can break the sauce or toughen the salmon.
-
Pat the salmon fillets dry and season both sides with the remaining 0.25 tsp salt. Nestle them into the pan on top of the potatoes, cover, and cook gently until the salmon is opaque and flakes at the thickest part, 8 to 10 minutes.
~10 min
Gentle covered cooking keeps salmon moist and prevents it from drying out or overcooking.
Simmering Keep a gentle simmer with small bubbles; a hard boil can break the sauce or toughen the salmon.
-
Lift the salmon onto warm plates. Stir the cream into the pan and simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt.
~4 min
Simmering uncovered evaporates water, thickening the cream so it clings to the potatoes and salmon.
Add the cream off a hard boil: a gentle simmer keeps it from splitting, and the sauce is ready when it coats the spoon and a line drawn through it holds.
Simmering Keep a gentle simmer with small bubbles; a hard boil can break the sauce or toughen the salmon.
-
Spoon the potatoes and creamy leek sauce around the salmon, scatter over the chopped dill, and serve straight away.
~2 min