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Poached Salmon with Cilantro Sauce

By Katie Workman

5 from 3 votes

on Jun 04, 2021, Updated Aug 14, 2024

Creamy cilantro sauce is a wonderful companion to flaky and moist simply poached salmon. This is a perfect dish for an elegant and light lunch or dinner, and both the fish and the sauce can be made ahead, so the meal will be very easy breezy, leaving you more time to make side dishes or perhaps a cocktail! Try pairing this with crispy potatoes made on the stovetop and a spinach salad.

Having been a small child in the era of The Preppy Handbook (which my dad actually published), the combo of pink and green gets certain synapses firing. I wasn’t preppy myself —  I was too young for the heart of the era. But I definitely internalized that the classic color combo of choice was pink and green, and I had an uncle with whale pants to prove it.

Poached Salmon with Cilantro Sauce: Simply poached salmon is excellent paired with a pretty, creamy herby sauce.

Make Ahead

The great news is that this can be made up to a day in advance, both the sauce and the fish. In fact, the salmon has to be made several hours in advance if you do want to serve it chilled, though room temperature or warm poached salmon is also lovely.

Cilantro Sauce with Salmon

If you are a cilantro fan, this sauce may become a little addiction for you. It’s lovely on roasted vegetables, all kinds of fish and pork and chicken dishes. It also makes a nice dip for crudites (raw veggies).

This would pair really well with BLT Pasta Salad, grilled vegetable kebabs, or sauteed broccolini and corn.

More Salmon Recipes

• Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Dill Sauce
• Creamy Tuscan Salmon
• Salmon, Potato, and Broccoli Sheet Pan Supper
• Poached Salmon Spread
• Salmon with Chimichurri Sauce

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5 from 3 votes

Poached Salmon with Cilantro Sauce

By: Katie Workman

Simply poached salmon is excellent paired with a pretty, creamy, herby sauce.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 People

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Ingredients 

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For the Salmon

• ▢ 2 pounds salmon filet (with or without skin)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coarse or kosher salt

For the Cilantro Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• ▢ ¼ cup minced shallots
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ ½ cup mayonnaise
• ▢ ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (or another 1/4 cup mayonnaise)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• ▢ Pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions 

• Put the salmon in a large pot (you can cut salmon in two pieces for a big round pot), cover with cold water, add 2 teaspoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, and leave the salmon in the covered pot for 10 minutes.
• Remove the fish from the liquid and refrigerate until chilled (unless you want to serve it warm or at room temperature, in which case cool it until it is the temperature you want). If there was skin on the fillets, peel it off.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine the cilantro leaves, shallots, and Dijon. Puree, add the mayonnaise and yogurt, if using, cream, salt, pepper, and cayenne and puree. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Serve the chilled fish with the sauce on the side or drizzled on top.

Notes

The great news is that this can be made up to a day in advance, both the sauce and the fish. In fact, the salmon has to be made several hours in advance if you do want to serve it chilled, though room temperature or warm poached salmon is also lovely.

Nutrition

Calories: 365kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 98mg, Sodium: 1363mg, Potassium: 767mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 326IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 32mg, Iron: 1mg

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