Poached Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce

Prepare the sauce up to two days ahead. You can also poach the salmon a couple of hours ahead and serve it chilled, if you prefer. Take care to cook the salmon over even heat, and maintain a constant, steady temperature.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 2  tablespoons  reduced-fat sour cream
• 1  tablespoon  organic canola mayonnaise (such as Spectrum)
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh dill
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  country-style Dijon mustard
• 
  Salmon:
• 3 1/2  cups  dry white wine
• 2  cups  water
• 1/4  cup  fresh lemon juice
• 2  cups  thinly sliced onion
• 2  dill sprigs
• 4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin on (about 1 inch thick)
• Dill sprigs (optional)
• Lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. To prepare sauce, combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Cover and chill 2 hours.

2. To prepare salmon, heat white wine, 2 cups water, fresh lemon juice, sliced onion, and 2 dill sprigs in a large skillet to 150°. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add fish to wine mixture; cook at 150° for 12 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Transfer to a serving platter with a slotted spoon. Serve with sauce. Garnish with dill sprigs and lemon wedges, if desired.

Wine note: Poached salmon is naturally rich and meaty. In this dish, it gets a kick from the delicious pungency of dill and mustard. A great wine companion needs to be able to counterbalance all three. For its precise, clean flavors and rush of citrus, I love the King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris from Oregon. The 2007 is about $25. —Karen MacNeil

Nutritional Information

Calories:

286

Fat:

18.7g (sat 3.1g,mono 6.4g,poly 3.8g)

Protein:

26.3g

Carbohydrate:

3.1g

Fiber:

0.4g

Cholesterol:

82mg

Iron:

1.2mg

Sodium:

96mg

Calcium:

68mg