Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce, Sauerkraut, & Easy Potato Cakes

Okay, first of all, this blog is going to take me a few minutes to write - not that anyone but me will notice. I made this dish last night and really, I was "winging it" the whole time. So I need to go through what I did mentally. 

I'm trying to post mostly dishes that my kids enjoyed. Occasionally, their tiny minds and tastebuds won't see (taste) the beauty of a dish, and it will get posted anyway, because, well, it's delicious. And their tiny minds can't see that. :) 

This one, my 5-year-old LOVED! I was a little surprised, because it's mustard and sauerkraut, but she loved it! 8-year-old: I think if I hadn't said "mustard" she would have liked it. She's insistent that she doesn't like mustard. Husband said I could make it again. This is big. Not sure if I've shared in the past, but once I made a pasta dish. I LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! I would still love it! Mind you, this was one of the first things I ever tried to make as an adult, so when I asked, "How is it?" He kindly replied, "Good!"  Good husband. Only he didn't like it. So after, oh I don't know, the 20th time making it - in probably 20 weeks - he told me he really didn't like it. Hmph. 

Lesson learned: Never ask, "How is it?", ask, "Would you like to have this again sometime?"

This one got a yes. Fantastic.

Now, to one of my secrets: I don't use real potatoes for mashed potatoes. I use Idahoan.

Sorry. I know, I know. There's stuff in them. Like, other than potatoes. I can't give them up yet. We love them. And they're EASY!

So, if you don't want to use the Idahoan potatoes, you're going to have to add the steps of making mashed potatoes. (Peel, boil, mash.)

The recipe is below. I'm going to add another post/recipe, also. My version of Tater Tot Casserole. I've seen a few floating around Facebook, and mine is my favorite. 

Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce, Sauerkraut & Easy Potato Cakes

• 4 Salmon Filets
• 2+ T Dijon mustard
• 6 T Butter, divided
• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1 t garlic
• 1 C Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 C White wine
• Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, any flavor, prepared following directions and cooled
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350. Have baking sheet set aside for salmon. Prepare mashed potatoes as directed (or prepare your own mashed potatoes, about 2 cups(?), more if you'd like more that 8 potato cakes. Whisk your egg a little, then add it to the potatoes and mix.

Begin by searing the salmon. Heat 2 T butter in saute pan on med-high/high. Brush salmon with dijon mustard. Sear both sides of salmon until starting to crisp, then transfer to baking sheet and place in oven. 

Saute your shallot and garlic in 2 T butter in same pan as you cooked the salmon. When the shallot is softened, add wine and heat until the wine starts to bubble. 

While your wine is heating, you can begin your potato cakes. I used a table spoon to scoop potatoes, made a ball, then flattened them so they were about palm-sized and maybe 1/4" thick. Heat your remaining 2 T of butter in a flat saute pan on med-high heat. When hot, place potato cakes in and heat until crisp, then flip. Remove onto paper towels.

Once your wine is bubbly, whisk in the cream and 2 T dijon mustard. The cream will thicken the sauce as it cooks. Don't let it thicken too much, you want a creamy mustard sauce, not mustard pudding, and it will thicken more as it sits. So just get it going, then turn it off. 

Your salmon should be cooked through. When it flakes, it's done. Like I said, I was completely winging this last night, at a few points, I had to stop and think about which step I should do next. With all of that, my salmon probably could have come out a minute or two before it did, but it was fine. With following directions, everything should either line up, or you might have to wait a minute or two for your salmon to finish, but not long. 

Either right after you bring your salmon out or in those two minutes your waiting for it to finish, throw some sauerkraut into the potato cake pan and just get it hot. Figure about one heaping tablespoon per filet of salmon. 

To plate: place one tablespoon of sauerkraut on plate, with two potato cakes on either side 

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See my diagram? :) 

Spoon a little dijon sauce onto the sauerkraut.

Place the salmon filet on top of the kraut, then top with a couple of spoonfuls of sauce. 

This was great, but I may try adding clove to the sauce next time. I'll let you know if I do and how it turns out.