Salmon with Dill Sauce and Parsley Root Puree
Salmon Lovers
Salmon is one of my favorite fishes. The color, oily, juicy texture and strong flavor make to be unique and recognizable. I baked it in parchment paper in the oven with dill and lemon slices together for just 10-12 minutes, not more. I am very careful, because it’s easy to dry it out. It has happened to me before. But I learnt from my mistakes and made a delicious baked salmon for today. You know, practice makes perfect.
Dill is a perfect match for salmon. I used 200 ml of Kyara’s home-made mayo for the dill sauce and added honey and garlic to it. The sauce should be a bit fluid, so I added a tablespoon of water as well.
I made parsley root puree as the side dish. You can choose mashed sweet potato also if you prefer that, but don’t miss my parsley root puree, because its flavor and color are matching very well with this baked salmon. Parsley root is often referred to as a forgotten vegetable. We use it general in Hungary, most of the time cooked in soups, in risotto or baked in oven. The parsnip has a very similar appearance, but its flavor is different, less characteristic.
Wild salmon vs farmed salmon
Salmon are native to rivers stream flowing into the North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. They hatch in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to spawn. Many species of salmon are living in non-native environment because they have been introduced there. They are intensively farmed in many places of the world, too.
The question which one is healthier, wild salmon or farm raised, is not a difficult question. The main factors below make it clear why wild salmon is healthier.
1. Salmon are carnivorous fishes. Their flesh is generally orange to red because they eat other wild fish, shellfish and krill, and they get carotenoids from them, their natural color results from carotenoid pigments. Farm-raised salmon are fed the carotenoids astaxanthin and canthaxanthin to match their flesh color to wild salmon to improve their marketability.
2. Salmon is considered to be healthy due to the fish’s high protein, high omega-3 fatty acids, and high vitamin D content. Wild fish has a far better fatty acid ratio of omega-3 fats (anti-inflammatory fats) to omega-6 fats (pro-inflammatory fats) than farm-raised.
Wild salmon has a more robust content of vitamins and minerals per calorie compared to farmed fish. Wild salmon contains more calcium, iron, zinc, and potassium than farmed salmon.
The difference between them is due to the diet the salmon is fed. Wild salmon eats other organisms found in its natural environment (other wild fish, shellfish, krill), but farmed fish are fed a higher-fat processed diet to produce more and larger fish.
The feeding of salmon would be very expensive if they are fed their natural food. They try to substitute animal proteins to vegetable proteins like soy-based products. This substitution results in lower levels of omega-3 fatty acid content in the farmed product.
3. Salmon farms try to get the most out of their farms. Meaning overcrowded farms, creating a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites. To solve this problem, they add antibiotic to the mix. Which can ultimately lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our bodies.
I think these 3 facts are enough to make us understand why consuming wild salmon is healthier. And creates a better understanding of the saying you are what you eat. I am aware that wild salmon is more expensive. Therefore, I don’t make it every week.
You can serve a nice appetizer or soup before this salmon dish and serve a nice dessert after it, and this portion is plenty for 4 persons. Don’t forget, make healthy and yummy food!
Salmon with Dill Sauce and Parsley Root Puree
Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
Salmon
- 900– 1000 gram wild salmon fillet
- 2 tbsp ghee or butter
- 2 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 bio lemon thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper freshly ground
- 1 parchment paper to wrap
Dill Sauce
- 200 ml home-made mayo
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp fresh dill finely cut
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp water
Parsley Root Puree
- 800 gram parsley root cleaned and sliced
- 400 ml chicken stock home made or cubes
- ¼ tsp nutmeg ground
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 pinches pepper freshly ground
- 1 tbsp ghee or butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Make parsley root puree first. Put cleaned and sliced parsley root into soup pan. Add 400 ml chicken stock and cook for 16-20 minutes, until soft.
- Pour the chicken stock from the pan into a bowl, keep it, use it later if necessary.
- Use immersion blender to make cooked parsley root creamy.
- Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and ghee (or butter) and mix until ghee/butter melted in the warm puree.
- Add a bit of kept chicken stock if puree is too thick. Be careful, don’t make it too thin or runny. It has to be creamy.
- Make the salmon. Place on parchment paper and season it with salt and pepper then put chopped dill to the top. Add ghee or butter in small chunks to the top too, and cover with lemon slices.
- Wrap the salmon after seasoning it.
- Put the wrapped salmon into the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until its center is cooked.
- Open the paper and use the grill function for 2-3 minutes, until lemon slices starting to bubble a bit. Set aside until serving.
- While salmon is cooking, make the dill sauce. Put 200 ml mayonnaise into small bowl. (Make Kyara’s home-made mayo if you don’t have ready.)
- Add honey, garlic, lemon juice and fresh dill and mix it.
- The sauce should be creamy but a little runny to pour over the salmon. Add 1 tbsp water if necessary and mix it. Add one more if one was not enough.
- Put puree to serving bowl, place salmon to serving plate and pour over with the dill sauce. Enjoy!