Salmon with cucumber sauce

I had a pot of crème fraîche in the fridge just past it's expiry date but still good. I need to use it fast!, I thought. It was a lot of crème fraîche so I found 2 recipes. Potatoes (with crème fraîche) and salmon (with crème fraîche) go well together, so why not cook them at the same time? And there you have it: crème fraîche overload that tastes really nice.

The salmon recipe is from Kate Whiteman's The ultimate book of fish and shellfish. The potatoes recipe is next.

Serves: 2 persons.

Ingredients:

• 400g salmon
• melted butter for brushing
• 5 thyme sprigs
• ½ lemon, sliced
• 2 tsp dill, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 orange, sliced
• For the cucumber sauce:
• ¼ cucumber
• 10g butter
• 50ml white wine
• 1 tbsp dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook the salmon:
1. Place the salmon on a piece of foil.

   

   
   
2. Season the salmon with salt & pepper to taste and brush inside and out with melted butter.
   
   
   
3. Place the thyme sprigs and slices of lemon on the fish and wrap the foil, folding the edges together securely.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Place the parcel in the oven and bake for 15 min at 220°C.
5. Remove the fish from the oven and let it stand wrapped in the foil until you finish the remaining food.
2. Make the cucumber sauce:
1. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, then dice the flesh.
   
   
   
2. Place the cucumber in a colander, toss lightly with salt and leave for about 30 min to drain. Rinse well and pat dry.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the cucumber and cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, for about 2 min, until translucent but not soft. It didn't look particularly translucent but if I cooked it any more it would be too soft.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add the wine to the pan, increase the heat to medium and boil briskly until the cucumber is dry.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Stir the dill and crème fraîche into the cucumber and season to taste with salt & pepper.
   
3. Finish the dish:
1. When the sauce is ready, unwrap the salmon and remove the skin.
2. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with dill and serve immediately with the cucumber sauce and slices of orange.