Oven-Baked Salmon with Picholine Olive Sauce

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 shallot (2 oz.), peeled and chopped (1/3 cup)

1 cup dry vermouth

1/2 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth or fish stock

1 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup chopped pitted picholine olives (or other mild green olives; see notes)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Salt and fresh-ground pepper

1 boned salmon fillet (3 lb.), skinned

1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

Fresh thyme sprigs, rinsed

Step 1

In a 6- to 8-inch frying pan over high heat, boil garlic and shallot in vermouth until mixture is reduced by about half, 5 to 8 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil again.

Step 2

Add cream, olives, and chopped thyme. Boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside.

Step 3

Rinse salmon fillet and pat dry. With tweezers, pull out pin bones. Lay fillet in a buttered 12- by 17-inch baking pan. Dot the fillet with butter, drizzle with wine, and sprinkle with tarragon. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Step 4

Bake in a 400° oven until salmon is barely opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 13 to 18 minutes. Slide salmon onto a platter.

Step 5

If sauce is cool, stir over medium-high heat until hot. Drizzle fish with some of the sauce; serve remaining to add to taste. Garnish fish with thyme sprigs.

Step 6

Wine pairing: A white with forward fruit and good acid in the finish, such as an Oregon Pinot Gris--we liked WillaKenzie and Adelsheim, both 2003--or a minerally French white Burgundy.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 0

Amount Per Serving
Calories 567Calories from Fat 62

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 39g60%

Saturated Fat 14g70%
Cholesterol 176mg59%
Sodium 356mg15%
Total Carbohydrate 4.9g2%

Dietary Fiber 0.3g2%
Protein 44g88%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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Oven-Baked Salmon with Picholine Olive Sauce