I haven’t been cooking from recipes much these days. Instead I’ve been focusing more on cooking my old favorites and learning new techniques. Recently, I’ve become fascinated by poaching. It isn’t a technique I regularly use, however, it is fast becoming one of my favorite cooking techniques. It is fast, easy, and not very messy! Great when you have a time crunch. Anyhow, I read about this technique of poaching fish in The Art of Simple Food (coincidentally a great book for learning new cooking techniques) and adapted it a little by adding peas. I added the peas when I began cooking the salmon which was a little to early so I’ve adjusted my recipe here. If you like your peas a little more well done throw them in when you begin cooking the salmon.

Ingredients

• 1 – 5 oz. piece of salmon
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 2 slices of lemon
• 1 teaspoon marjoram (thyme or oregano is good, too)
• 1 splash white wine
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• water, salt & pepper

Directions

Fill a small saucepan with 1-2 inches of water. Add lemon slices, herbs, and a large splash of wine. Bring the water to a simmer. In the meantime, salt and pepper both sides of the salmon. Once water is simmering, add salmon. Be careful not to let the mixture boil.. it should remain just simmering the entire cooking time. Cook salmon approximately 3 minutes per side (assuming a 1-2″ thick piece) adding peas halfway through cooking time. Remove salmon & peas from water then turn heat to high. Add mustard and butter and boil until sauce is reduced by two-thirds. Pour reduced sauce over salmon/peas and serve.