Horseradish-crusted Salmon

I've been experiencing some setbacks cooking-wise lately: an apple pie that was quite tasty but extremely ugly (plus the crust really wasn't worth sharing) as well as a Caesar salad that was, to put it plainly, NASTY. Ugh, vinegar. In addition we've been working our way through some leftover roast beef (paahtopaisti), which is very good but doesn't make for very interesting meals (especially as I didn't actually make the roast - incidentally, my mother would like you to know that I'm a dirty rotten liar and she does too know how to cook meat).


But last night! I made the horseradish salmon I spotted in the Finnish food blog Keittokomerossa last week, and it was fabulous. I played around with the amounts a bit, making this a bit less horseradishy - there was a definite tang but nothing overpowering.



Horseradish-crusted Salmon
served three, with a bit of leftovers
700 g (1½ lb) salmon fillets, with skin
75 g (2½ oz) prepared horseradish
2 egg yolks
75 g (2½ oz) breadcrumbs
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
butter for frying

for the sauce:
250 ml (1 cup) light cream
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
25 g (1 oz) prepared horseradish (they come in tubes à 100 g here, so I just went by feel)
juice of one lemon
a whole lot of chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the salmon into serving-sized pieces and remove bones. Salt lightly. Mix the horseradish paste and egg yolk on a plate and the parsley and breadcrumbs on another. Dredge the salmon, skin side up, first in the horseradish and then in the breadcrumbs.

Fry the salmon in a bit of butter, breaded side down, on a medium-hot pan, for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking tray, skin side down, and bake in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 6-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets.

For the sauce, reduce the cream in a saucepan for a bit (I thickened it with a bit of cornstarch, but I'm not sure it was necessary, really). Add the rest of the ingredients and take off the heat before it comes back to the boil.