Roasted Copper River Salmon & Dijon Cream Sauce with Dill

Today was another hot day here; we got up to 94 degrees. I wanted to make something fairly quick and simple for dinner. I debated about whether or not to turn the oven on. I decided to go ahead and turn it on to roast the fresh Copper River Red Salmon I had in the fridge because it only roasts for 12 minutes and then it gets removed and covered to sit and complete the cooking outside of the oven.

To roast the salmon, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking pan or sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean up). Place your salmon fillets skin side down and brush with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Place in the preheated oven and immediately reduce heat to 425 degrees F and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil and allow to sit to complete cooking. If you prefer your salmon slightly rare in the center, cover for only 2 to 3 minutes. If you prefer it cooked through, cover it for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your fillets. I cooked 2 large fillets (a little over 2-1/2 pounds). The cooking time is the same regardless of whether you cook only 1 portion or a larger portion like I did. I intentionally made extra.

What makes this roasted salmon dish even more special and elegant is the super easy Dijon Cream Sauce w/ Dill that only takes about 5 minutes to make. You won't believe how simple it is to make and it uses simple ingredients found anywhere. If you don't have fresh dill available, substitute dried dill weed (and use half the amount because it's more intense than fresh). I use cream as the liquid part of this sauce but you can use half and half, milk or even a milk alternative if that's what you have on hand. I actually experimented a bit tonight and used half cream and half unsweetened cashew milk to see if I could tell a difference, and I couldn't. I snapped a quick photo of this beautiful and simple meal. We had steamed organic broccoli with our salmon. This sauce would also be great on top of steamed broccoli, too, if you like. The recipe for my easy peasy Dijon Cream Sauce w/ Dill is below. Enjoy!

Dijon Cream Sauce with Dill

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half (plus extra to thin sauce as necessary)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I used coarsely ground)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder, or to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped (or half the amount if using dried)

Directions:

Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add cream cheese and whisk until melted, whisking vigorously until blended smooth. Stir in cream, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper and whisk until blended. Heat just until sauce begins to simmer (careful not to boil). Whisk in dry mustard until blended. Stir in dill. If necessary, add additional cream to thin sauce to desired consistency. Serve over chicken or fish.  

*Note: Don't worry if it appears like your cream cheese has separated or curdled as it melts into the butter; it hasn't. Simply whisk vigorously until it pulls together with the butter and becomes smooth before adding the cream and other ingredients.