Poached Salmon with Dill Tzatziki Sauce

Well readers, here we are again: Tuesday. I hope your Monday morning went smoothly and you were able to keep your head down and work, work, work, work, work, work until it was suddenly quittin' time and you were able to go home and enjoy your leisure minute.


I got home last night to find Nate (once again) underneath the Jeep fixing something and I wanted to make something quick with minimum effort - enter poached salmon. I've never poached anything in my life so I needed a little guidance; I got this recipe from Daphne Oz' The Happy Cook cookbook and I have to say it was pretty simple.


Poached Salmon with Dill Tzatziki Sauce

For the salmon:
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp peppercorns
6 C water
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
2 4 oz salmon fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste


For the Tzatziki Sauce:


1 small cucumber, grated
1 medium garlic clove, grated
1/2 Tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp dried dill (or 2 Tbsp fresh dill)
1 C plain Greek yogurt


I began by making the Tzatziki sauce so it could sit in the fridge and marinate while I prepared the salmon.


Over a colander or fine mesh sieve, grate cucumber using the small grater holes. Once the cucumber is completely grated, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Transfer now less-moist cucumber to a bowl.


Grate garlic clove using a Microplane and add to cucumber.


Mix in lemon juice, spices and yogurt. Set in fridge.


To make the salmon, in a deep skillet (or small stock pot), toast the coriander seeds and peppercorns for 1 minute. Moving the pan around a few times during the toasting process.


Add in 6 C of water, lemon slices and bay leaf and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. After the liquid comes to a boil, simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.


Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper and simmer in the liquid for 4-5 minutes or until edges stiffen. My fillets were pretty thin so I cooked mine for 5 minutes but depending on thickness add or subtract a minute of cooking time.


Remove from heat and allow the salmon to sit in the poaching liquid for 5 minutes.


Serve with a heafty spoonful of Tzatziki sauce.


I served this salmon with a side of sautéed asparagus.


While I enjoyed the ease of the poaching process, I'm not sure how much I like non-textured food. The salmon had none of the great crust and meatiness that salmon gets when you sear it in a hot pan. Poaching may not be for me...enjoy your Tuesday and stay tuned for Southern Fried Chicken and Corn on the Cob!