Poached salmon with caramelised leeks and mustard dill sauce

I absolutely adore fresh salmon. It could be grilled, smoked, fried or poached – whichever way it is served I will most likely feel like going back for seconds.

Growing up we used to have linner (lunch/dinner just like brunch is a breakfast lunch) at school and one of my favourites was meatballs in a mustard dill sauce. My Mum used to cook a rendition of the dish at home, but since she became pescetarian a little while back she has been serving the sauce with salmon, and I tell you what, it works superbly!

The good news is that both the leek and the mustard and dill sauce in this recipe go perfectly well with a slow braised beef fillet or beef cheek too, so if you’re not into fish – and you should be as it’s chockful of goodness like omega3s,  you can enjoy the flavours of the sauce with red meat as well.

Having said that, Mr Chipconnoisseur and I havd agreed to go vegetarian for 4 days a week. The rest will be a good mix of fresh fish, organic chicken and a little bit of red meat. I will obviously continue to share a variety of recipes on the blog but will be attempting to use even more whole ingredients in a lot of my cooking.

But before we start, I promise to share a few recipes inspired by our visit to Asia this week. I already have a gorgeous pork belly salad idea and a couple of amazing French soup flavours to try.

Serves 4

Poached salmon with caramelised leeks and mustard sauce

The sauce and side of leeks go just as well with braised beef cheek or fillet, or any type of white fish.

{Printable recipe}

For the salmon:

• 2 salmon fillets, cut in half longways
• 2 lemons, cut in half

For the leeks:

• 8 leeks, white part only
• 4 tbsp butter

For the sauce:

• 350ml water
• 20g butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 tbsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped dill

To make the leeks: wash leeks thoroughly. Place in some boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Heat up a little butter in a small pan and add the leeks. Cover and simmer covered for another 20 minutes or until soft.

To make the sauce: melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and whisk vigorously, add water and keep whisking until the sauce thickens to cream-like consistency. Add mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and add chopped dill.

To make the salmon: cut fillets in half longways. Slice lemons, place in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook salmon in lemon water for about 6-8 minutes if you like it pink in the middle, or 10-12 minutes if you prefer it cooked all the way through.

To serve: serve with mash potato or rice with caramelised leeks on the side and a generous helping of the mustard sauce.