Olive Oil Poached Salmon

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I came across the blog Fish & Veggies by way of my new favorite daily read, Apron Anxiety. I figured, if Alyssa likes this blog, I might too so I took a quick look. I came across this post about olive oil poached salmon that intrigued me. So off I went to learn more. I found two other recipes because come on, you should know me by now, I can't follow just one recipe for a new dish. Three minimum actually (it's a crazy mind I live in!). I found a recipe from the New York Times and one from Serious Eats. I'm sure there are more elaborate and fussy recipes but I wanted to start with the basics. I bought a beautiful fillet of red King Salmon from Wilson Fish at the market yesterday and in the hour since my last post I have prepped, cooked and eaten the most delicious fillet of olive oil poached salmon with asparagus. It was fantastic. I combined the recipes as always and came up with this version. The salmon was so moist and perfectly cooked.

Olive Oil Poached Salmon with Asparagus

10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2-4 cups olive oil, enough to cover fish so it depends how large your pot is and how much fish you have
1.25 pounds salmon fillet, room temperature, skinned and cut into 3 pieces
1 lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste
Minced chives

1 bunch asparagus

In a small sauce pan, combine olive oil, garlic and thyme. Peel the lemon with a vegetable peeler, removing only the yellow part, in strips and add to oil.

Heat oil over medium-low heat until it reaches 180 degrees or has tiny bubbles rising occasionally. While you wait, season fish on both sides with salt and pepper.

Add fish and make sure it is covered with oil. (I had to add a little more oil.)

Cook fish for roughly 10 minutes. (The other recipes called for longer but my pieces weren't that large. Plus, better to pull it out too early than too late. I pulled mine when the inside was still a bit rare which I recommend too.)

While you wait, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon or two of salt, then add asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the water and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Cut asparagus on the diagonal into 1-2" pieces. Return to pan and spoon a little of the oil from the cooking salmon to that pan. Squeeze half a lemon over asparagus and re-heat.

Remove salmon to a plate lined with paper towels, let drain. Place on serving platter and surround with asparagus. Sprinkle with chives, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.