If it were possible I’d be poising my fork or spoon right there in that sauce and poking a little piece of salmon to eat with it. So easy to make. So decadent. If you’re watching calories, read no further – just forget this one!
It must have been about 20 years ago that I first had “burr-blahnk.” (Please – do laugh at and with me here . . . ) Having never heard of it, I knew nothing of its spelling, let alone its origins (French) and it’s meaning (beurre means butter and blanc means white, and in this case it means white wine). Thus, a white wine and butter sauce. We were in a fish restaurant, with white tablecloths, and I know the waiter looked down his very long nose at me, that I didn’t know about it. I went right home and looked it up, only to discover that it’s just a butter sauce, but made very exactingly so it doesn’t separate.
Phillis Carey served this salmon dish at a recent cooking class I went to, and gosh, was that saffron sauce delicious. You can see a tiny strand of saffron down in the right front of the sauce in the photo above. She was very generous with the saffron when she demonstrated, so it came out a really gorgeous golden color, and you could taste the saffron.
First you need to prepare the achiote paste and flour mixture. What is it, you ask? The spice mixture (sold in a chunk as in the picture at left) usually includes annatto (they’re seeds, from an annatto tree), Mexican oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, garlic, and salt. The annatto seeds dye the mixture red, and this gives the meat or vegetables it seasons a distinctive red hue. Some regular grocery stores carry it – if not, seek out a Mexican or South American market. The mixture is believed to be Mayan in origin. Anyway, you mix the achiote with flour and dip the salmon into it. Achiote gives a lovely red color to things, and it gives off a bit of heat as well. In my book, this version is a very mild amount. If you’re sensitive, you can leave it out.
The salmon fillets are seasoned with salt and pepper, then dipped into the achiote flour mixture, then briefly browned in a skillet, just 1-2 minutes per side. Onto a parchment-lined baking sheet they go and roast for about 7-9 minutes. In that time you make the butter sauce. White wine, shallots, rice vinegar and saffron go into a sauce pan and cook briefly. Then you begin adding the butter in small amounts, watching very carefully that the mixture doesn’t boil (if it does, the sauce will separate and you might as well throw it out and start over). Kept just below a boil, you can add the butter in several batches, and whisk it around to melt. Once you add enough butter (and yes, you add a LOT) the sauce thickens some. At the end you add some orange zest, chives and salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, everything else about your dinner needs to be ready (hot plates, salads plated, vegetables made, rice put onto hot plates) so when it all comes together you’ll put those salmon fillets right onto the plate and drizzle the slightly thickened butter sauce over the top. This would make a lovely company meal, but you might enlist help from someone else to help get everything plated and ready when the sauce is done. You can reheat the sauce, but it’s very, very difficult to re-heat a sauce without it boiling, and that sauce will separate if you do. Trust me – I’ve done it – so I know!
What’s GOOD: Well, the sauce is just lovely. Really tasty. And yes, very decadent. Serve some rice alongside so if you can’t scoop up all the sauce with the salmon, you’ll get all of it with the rice. Serve a green veg with it to give nice color to the plate.
What’s NOT: if you watch fat grams and calories, forget this one. But really, each person only gets a couple of tablespoons of sauce, so it may not be so bad after all! You also need to pace your meal carefully and have everything all ready when the sauce is done.
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Salmon and Achiote with Saffron Orange Beurre Blanc
Recipe By: From a Phillis Carey cooking class, 2013 (she adapted the recipe from the Food Network)
Serving Size: 6
ACHIOTE MIXTURE:
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons achiote paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
SALMON:
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil — or vegetable oil (do not use olive oil)
2 1/2 pounds salmon fillets — cut into 6 pieces
BEURRE BLANC:
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons minced shallot
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter — (and it may need more)
2 pinches saffron
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon chives — minced, or cilantro
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Note: Just remember that each person gets just a couple tablespoons of the sauce.
PREP: Have all the Beurre Blanc sauce ingredients ready before starting. It will likely take the full 7 minutes or more of the salmon-baking-time to finish the sauce. Have hot plates and all the rest of the meal ready to serve.
1. Preheat the oven to 375° F (use convection/bake if available). Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper, large enough to hold the salmon pieces without crowding or touching.
2. ACHIOTE: In a shallow bowl combine flour and achiote paste.
3. Rub each salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with the annatto flour mixture. Shake off any excess. Place the oil in a large saute pan and heat to medium-high heat. Pan sear the fillets until golden, 1-2 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan. As the fish is browned, remove from pan and place on parchment lined sheet pan. When all pieces have been browned, bake the salmon for 7-9 minutes (depends on the thickness).
4. SAUCE: Combine white wine, minced shallot, and rice wine vinegar in sauce pot. Simmer on medium heat until reduced by half. Add butter in several batches and whisk each time until the butter has melted, replacing pan on the stove for short periods. BUT do not allow mixture to boil at all, or it will separate. Once you’ve added the butter and it still seems to be too thin, you will need to add more butter (original recipe calls for 2 cups butter). Add saffron and orange zest and whisk in until blended thoroughly. Serve immediately. Serve with rice or some kind of carb to help absorb the fabulous sauce.
Per Serving: 696 Calories; 57g Fat (72.8% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 222mg Cholesterol; 343mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on October 7th, 2013:
Something else that would be difficult if not impossible to get here…love beurre blanc though!
You want me to send you some? I doubt it would cost all that much! . . . carolyn t