Pan-fried Salmon with Lemon and Herb Butter Sauce

If you’re looking for a quick, easy and delicious weekday supper, you might like to give this a go. It’s very good with freshly-dug new potatoes and fresh broad beans or peas.

The sauce brings everything together beautifully and takes minutes to make. It works just as well with lemon sole fillets, if you have a good fishmonger nearby.

Pan-fried Salmon With Lemon and Herb Butter Sauce

Image of salmon srved with broad beans and new potatoes

Ingredients:

2 salmon fillets

1 tbsp olive oil

1 knob of butter (about 25g)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the sauce:

55 ml white wine

50g butter

100ml double cream

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp chives, snipped small

1 tbspn chervil, dill or parsley

Image of sauce being whisked

Method:

For the sauce, put the white wine in a saucepan and simmer for 4-5 minutes over a medium heat until reduced to 2-3 tbsp.

Add the butter and double cream, whisk gently until amalgamated and reduce until thick.

Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and most of the herbs, reserving a sprig or two to garnish the fish. Season with salt to taste. Keep warm.

For the salmon, season the fish on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then heat the butter and oil together in a frying pan.

Cook the fillets for 3-4 minutes a side or until cooked through.

Serve with the lemon and herb sauce and garnish with the remaining herbs.

Image of salmon served with broad beans and new potatoes

11 thoughts on “Pan-fried Salmon with Lemon and Herb Butter Sauce

  1. That looks amazing, and I will definitely be trying. Surely you should double sell the broad bean though? 🙂

  2. This looks lovely – going to make it this week. I only double shell when the beans start to get a bit tough. Thank you again for such great recipes.

  3. I am suffering salmon envy. We usually have salmon weekly. This week I got red snapper instead. It folded into a big lump under the grill and tasted like an old canvas tennis shoe. I ended up having ham and spinach instead. This looks lovely.

    • Ohh nooo! What a tragedy. The ham sounds good though. You’re lucky having good fishmongers where you are, all the same. We have a van in the local market on Thursdays and Fridays. Lovely fish though. x

  4. Made this for dinner last night – excellent! I cooked the salmon in the oven in a foil envelope with a splash of white wine rather than frying it, and I had no chives so used lots of parsley in the sauce.
    Delicious,especially loved the lemony tang of the sauce.
    Served it with tiny Jersey Royals and a mix of broad beans and peas. Would also go well with asparagus or spinach.
    Had a glass of wine with it, and then fresh raspberries for dessert.
    Quick and easy, felt like a bit of a treat somehow, and was very well received by family. Thank you!

    • Gosh, Penny, I’m coming round to yours for supper tonight! That sounds lovely – and cooking the salmon in foil works really well, in fact that’s how I usually do it too. The sauce does make it taste quite luxurious, doesn’t it?
      Thanks so much for trying it and especially for giving me the feedback – it makes it all worthwhile when someone cooks a recipe and enjoys it (and then actually tells me!).

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