I’ve had my Le Creuset braiser for almost a year now, yet I’ve only used it to braise one time. I recently found a great recipe for braised salmon and was completely intrigued (I’d never heard of braising fish!). While most recipes that require braising take several hours, this was a quick-braise. Fish is much more delicate, therefore it doesn’t need to soak in the liquid as long as meat does in order to get tender.
Quick-Braised Salmon and Broccoli
(Recipe adapted from Clean Eating Magazine)
Ingredients
2 8-oz. thick-boneless, skinless wild salmon fillets
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, plus additional to taste
1 T garlic olive oil
1 cup low sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 medium head broccoli, cut into thin spears
Juice 1 lemon, divided
6 oz. plain Greek yogurt
2 T finely minced fresh tarragon
2 T finely minced fresh mint leaves
salt, to taste
** The original recipe called for regular olive oil, not garlic olive oil. It also called for 1 medium leek, thinly sliced crosswise, white and pale green parts only, instead of chives. I did not use the leeks because they contain FODMAPs. The chives worked pretty well as a substitute, I think.**
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and season with pepper. In a large braiser or ovenproof saute pan, heat oil on medium-high. Add salmon and sear for 3 minutes per side, until lightly golden. Transfer salmon to a plate and keep warm.
- Reduce heat to medium and add 1/4 cup broth to pan. Add chives (or leeks!) and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until liquid evaporates and chives (or leeks) soften. Add remaining 3/4 cup broth and broccoli; mix well.
- Return salmon to center of braiser, nestling between chives (or leeks) and broccoli. Drizzle half of lemon juice over salmon; cover and transfer pan to oven. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until salmon and broccoli are tender. Remove from oven and, using slotted spoon, transfer salmon and vegetables to a platter, over with foil to keep warm. Reserve 1/2 cup pan juices.
- Prepare Lemon-Herb Sauce: in a small bowl, combine yogurt, tarragon, mint, remaining lemon juice, and reserved 1/2 cup pan juices; mix well. Season with salt and additional pepper, to taste.
- To serve, halve salmon fillets and plate each with Lemon-Herb Sauce and chive-broccoli mixture.
This is what it looked like when I took it out of the oven, after I cut off a piece of the salmon to have a taste 
This was DELICIOUS! And the sauce tastes really good on other cuts of meat as well.
QUESTION: Have you ever braised fish? Do you like to use mint in your recipes?
