Pan Seared Salmon with Quick Hollandaise Sauce
Crispy seared salt and pepper salmon topped with the quickest, bright, righ Hollandaise sauce is one of my absolute favourite things to eat. The Hollandaise sauce is made in seconds in a food proccessor/blender and is delicious on any seared meat, steamed vegetables, potatoes, eggs benedict, etc.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Salmon:
- 4 fillets fresh salmon boneless, skinless
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Hollandaise:
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 lemon, juiced about 1 1/2 tbsps
- pinch cayenne pepper
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Salmon:
- Pat dry the salmon filets with paper towel. Drizzle with olive and season generously (very important not to skimp here) with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat until very hot.
- Add the salmon in a single layer or work in batches if you cannot fit them in one pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes without moving, until you see the sides and edges of the salmon turn light pink and the filets lift easily from the pan with a good colour sear on the bottom.
- Flip salmon filets and cook for another 4 minutes until just cooked through and nicely seared.
- Transfer to a plate and tent with foil until ready to serve.
Hollandaise:
- Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to the small bowl of a food processor, blender, or NutriBullet. This can sit for at least an hour until you are ready to make the sauce.
- When ready to make the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan until simmering. If using a microwave, melt in 30 second increments, covered, until very hot.
- Blend the egg yolk mixture for 30 seconds.
- If using a food processor or blender with a feeding tube, slowly dribble in the hot butter and blend for another 30-60 seconds until thickened. For a magic bullet, slowly drizzle a few drops of the hot butter while whisking vigorously with a fork or whisk, then steadily add the rest of the hot butter while continuously whisking. Attach the lid and blend for 30-60 seconds until thickened.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately.
- Sauce can sit for up to 1 hour at room temperature. Blend again for a few seconds before serving and add 1 tsp hot tap water while blending if sauce has broken to bring it back together and reheat.
- Drizzle Hollandaise sauce over salmon and serve. This pairs well with roasted asparagus, boiled new potatoes, steamed vegetables, lentils, sauteed greens, etc.
