How did you discover this recipe? “It was my sister Morgan’s recipe; she actually just made it for me one day and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is delicious. Can I steal it?’ So she showed me how to make it. From there, it became a dish that I made often, but I like it so much that I wanted to have it on special occasions. This was during a time a pescatarian, I wasn’t eating meat, so I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to need something to eat on Thanksgiving, so I’ll just make the creamy Tuscan salmon!’ So this is what I’ve been making every year for Thanksgiving and for Christmas.”
Any tips you can share? “The heavy cream can be switched out; it’s thick, so if you want a looser sauce, use half-and-half. You can also swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.”
How would you describe the flavor of the finished dish? “It tastes very light, with a tang from the tomato. It can get gooey because of the cheese, too. It’s so good!”
Ingredients
1 box olive oil couscous
4 salmon fillets
1 tsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup shredded Parmesan
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Oregano
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup spinach
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Directions:
1. Place a tsp. of olive oil into a pan on medium heat and add the fish.
2. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes on both sides “or until the fish gets really golden and crispy.” Remove from pan.
3. Add diced yellow onion and garlic to the pan. “They should get translucent and aromatic.”
4. Add 1 tsp. apiece of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and sauté over onions and garlic.
5. Add 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, and 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes. “I prefer crushed sun-dried tomatoes rather than whole sun-dried tomatoes; I think it just incorporates with the sauce a lot better.”
6. Add fresh rosemary, fresh basil and oregano to taste. “It depends on how you’re feeling! You don’t even need to add it at all, but a stem of thyme, a stem of rosemary and three stems of basil adds that Italian flavor.”
7. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes then take 1 cup spinach and saute it into the sauce.
8. Place the salmon back in the pan. “Just let it marinate and cook a little bit longer, maybe ten minutes. Right after that it should be done and ready you to eat it!”
9. Meanwhile, in a pot, add box couscous and its seasoning packet and prepare according to package directions.
10. Plate the couscous and place the salmon on top.
