Creamy Herbed Salmon

Words by Bonnie S. Benwick, The Washington Post

A sauce can make or break a dish - a component so important that it merits its own pan, culinary school certification and cookbooks. But in this 20-minute recipe, it's a simple enterprise: a little butter, a little garlic, a judicious amount of half-and-half and fresh herbs.

Rosemary and thyme do double duty here, coating each bite-sized helping of salmon so they provide texture and flavor, and then a last-minute toss of chopped parsley heightens all those herby aromas. The fish finishes cooking in the pan sauce, and before you know it, you've created something pretty special for a weeknight.

Creamy Herbed Salmon

2 servings

A little special treatment with an easy yet elegant pan sauce makes the salmon extra tender.

Serve with boiled or roasted small potatoes; see the NOTE, below.

Adapted from Nigel Slater's "The 30-Minute Cook" (Penguin re-set edition, 2006).

Ingredients

Leaves from 2 big stems fresh rosemary

Leaves from 2 or 3 stems fresh thyme

1 clove garlic

1 pound skin-on salmon fillets, preferably center-cut pieces

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup half-and-half

Kosher or sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Leaves from 2 stems fresh parsley

Half a lemon

Steps

Finely chop the rosemary and thyme leaves; together is okay. Spread them on a plate.

Mince the garlic. Cut the salmon into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Press the flesh sides of each one into the herbs to coat. (They won't be completely covered.)

Melt the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once its foam begins to subside, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the herbed salmon pieces, skin sides down; cook for 2 to 3 minutes or just until the skin gets a little crisped and you can see the salmon turning from dark to lighter pink (and opaque).

The butter should be turning brown by now; pour in the half-and-half and stir it in. Season the contents of the pan lightly with salt and pepper; cook for a minute or two, checking to see that all the salmon is cooked through, then remove from the heat.

Coarsely chop the parsley leaves, then sprinkle them over the contents of the skillet.

Divide the salmon between plates. Spoon the sauce over the fish, then squeeze the juice of the lemon half over the fish and sauce. Serve warm.

Feature Image:  Tom McCorkle; Food styling: Bonnie S. Benwick; Video: Taylor Turner, The Washington Post