Recipe: Roasted Salmon with Pomegranate Butter Sauce

the appetizer:

Prepare for Fall parties with Autumn Gatherings by Rick Rodgers, featuring recipes like Cranberry Rum-Raisin Sauce; Butternut Squash Bisque with Chipotle-Red Pepper Swirl; and Roasted Salmon with Pomegranate Butter Sauce.

Cookbook

Roasted Salmon
with Pomegranate Butter Sauce

Makes 6 servings

If you've never roasted salmon, get ready for a treat, as the oven heat seals in the flavor better than moist-heat methods like poaching or steaming. It isn't fancy; that is, until it comes into contact with this special sauce, a red variation of the classic beurre blanc. One important tip: Incorporate the butter over very low heat so it softens into a creamy emulsion with the acidic base. If the heat is too high, the butter will simply melt. While the sauce is made with bottled pomegranate juice, garnish each serving with a few pomegranate seeds, if you wish.

One 2-pound center-cut salmon fillet, with skin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pomegranate Butter Sauce

1/2 cup bottled pomegranate juice
1/2 cup hearty red wine, such as Syrah-Cabernet blend
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
or 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 8 equal portions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a large rimmed baking sheet.

2. Run your fingers over the cut side of the salmon, feeling for any pin bones. If necessary, pull out the bones with sterilized tweezers. Place the salmon on the baking sheet, flesh side up. Season with the salt and pepper. Cut the salmon vertically into 6 equal portions, but do not separate the pieces. (This makes the salmon easier to serve after cooking.)

3. Roast until the salmon shows just a hint of bright pink when prodded in the center of the fillet at one of the cuts with the tip of a knife, 12 to 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the butter sauce. Bring the pomegranate juice, wine, shallots, and rosemary to a boil in a nonreactive medium saucepan over high heat. Cook until the liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of the butter. Whisk until the butter softens into a creamy texture, occasionally returning the pan to the heat to keep it warm, but not hot. Repeat with the remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you wish, strain the sauce through a coarse mesh wire strainer into a serving bowl, but I usually skip this refinement, as the sauce will taste great one way or the other. Do not bother to try to keep the sauce piping hot; it will be heated by the warmth of the salmon.

6. Serve the salmon on individual dinner plates, and spoon the sauce on top. Serve immediately.