CREAMY LEMON GARLIC SALMON PICCATA

This is probably one of my favorite dinners EVER. The first time I made it I could barely keep myself from shouting for joy with each bite. I then licked the sauce from the bottom of my bowl and told my husband it was absolutely restaurant worthy. He agreed. If you aren’t scared of salmon, you are in for a TREAT. It is divine.

The original recipe came from Cafe Delites and I’ve yet to make something of hers that I don’t love! I doubled the sauce her recipe called for because there is nothing sadder than not having enough sauce, and then I served it over a bed of spaghetti noodles. SO good. You could just serve the salmon on its own with some veggies on the side, but I highly recommend the noodles. The recipe below is with the doubled sauce recipe, so you don’t need to worry about doubling it!

This recipe is best with fresh salmon (I love the fresh salmon from Costco), but if you have only have frozen salmon, that will work too! You just can’t beat the freshness of the fresh stuff. It is much less fishy and has a way better flavor!

Ingredients:

• 4-6 skinless salmon fillets (roughly 6 ounces each)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup flour (optional, but recommended!)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 medium garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 2/3 cup dry white wine (or white cooking wine) – can also substitute more chicken broth
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth
• 3-4 leveled teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (adjusted to your taste)
• 1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cream
• 1 large handful coarsely chopped parsley, to garnish
• Lemon slices, to serve
• 1 box spaghetti noodles, cooked and set aside (keep 1 cup of the pasta water to moisten the noodles with before serving)

Instructions:

1. Cook spaghetti noodles until al dente and set aside. Do not rinse, but save 1 cup of pasta water to pour over the noodles right before serving).
2. Season both sides of salmon fillets evenly with salt and pepper. Add flour to a shallow dish and dredge the salmon in the flour. Shake off excess.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large stainless steel pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to mix with the butter.
4.  Add salmon and sauté four minutes on each side, or until just cooked to your liking. You may have to cook your salmon in batches depending on the size of your pan and salmon fillets. You don’t want your pan to be overcrowded. Transfer salmon to a warm plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
5. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter (or oil) to pan and melt. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute until fragrant.
6. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Cook until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 cups of the chicken stock/broth to the pan along with the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook for one more minute.
7. Mix 3 teaspoons of cornstarch with 6 tablespoons of the reserved broth, whisking well to combine. While stirring, add the cornstarch to the pan. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. If it’s not as thick as you want it, mix the remaining cornstarch with the 2 T of remaining broth and add to the center of the pan.
8. Once thickened, stir in the cream, remove from heat, and add capers.
9. Place the salmon fillets back into the pan. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, pepper and add in lemon slices.
10. Pour reserved pasta water over your noodles and drain. To plate, add some noodles to the bottom of a bowl, spoon some sauce over the noodles, and top with a salmon fillet. Drizzle with more sauce and garnish with parsley and lemon slices (If you are gluten-free, use rice-noodles or simply skip the noodles altogether and serve the salmon with rice or on its own with a side of vegetables).
11. Serve immediately.