Baked Salmon in a Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce with Saffron Risotto Recipe Instructions

Ingredients

For the Salmon

• 4 x 6-8 oz fillets of salmon
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

• 8 oz roasted red peppers
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
• 1 tspn corn starch
• Pepper to taste

For the Saffron Risotto

• 1 cup of risotto rice
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon saffron
• 2 oz (1/2 stick) of salted butter
• 3 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano
• ½ cup of frozen or fresh peas
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a sauce pot on a medium heat, melt the butter with the dry risotto rice. Once the butter is melted and incorporated into the rice, add the 2 cups of chicken stock and saffron to the sauce pot and bring it to a boil. Add in the peas and stir. Continue stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until the stock is absorbed into the rice and the rice is soft. If the stock disappears and your rice is still hard, add some more chicken stock and continue stirring. Add the grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and mix. Remove from heat.
2. In a bowl, combine the parsley, dill, olive oil, and lemon juice and mix. Then pass the salmon through the mixture coating both sides. Crack some fresh pepper and a bit of salt over each fillet. Bring a sauté pan to a medium heat and lightly sauté the salmon, skin side down for 4-5 minutes. Then pass to the oven to complete baking for another 4-7 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon fillets. The salmon should easily flake off with a fork, and then it’s done.
3. Add the red roasted peppers to a blender and puree. Add the heavy cream to the blender and puree for about 10 seconds, just until the cream and red roasted peppers are fully combined. Bring a large sauté pan to a medium high heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the cream and roasted red pepper mixture from the blender. Once the mixture begins to simmer, slowly add the parmesan cheese whisking it as you add it to keep the parmesan cheese from lumping and to make sure it fully incorporates in the sauce. Make a corn starch slurry by mixing with a small fork in a small bowl the 1 tspn of corn starch and 1 tspn of water until it’s fully liquified and not clumpy. Then whisk into the roasted red pepper sauce the corn starch slurry and continue whisking – you’ll notice the sauce will start to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste, and remove the sauce from the heat.
4. Stuff a ½ cup measuring cup with the risotto, and then turn over onto your plate. Plate the salmon and then pour some roasted red pepper sauce around the salmon.