Herb-Stuffed Baked Salmon with Béarnaise Sauce

I’m lucky to live in an area that is surrounded by pristine waters and is home to some of the best fresh seafood in the world. I love to cook with and eat salmon, it’s such a fantastically healthy food and yet also manages to be easy and versatile to cook with.

Winner, winner, salmon dinner!

This keto dish is wonderful for a dinner party or barbecue. It’s knock-your-socks-off impressive and tastes incredible, but is super simple to make. The bulk of the work (not that there is much) can be done well in advance and then all that remains is to pop it in the oven and relax. That’s my kind of entertaining!

You can bake it in your oven, or on your barbecue, if you have a hooded one. I used my barbecue because the salmon was too big for my oven.

I like to serve mine over a simple bed of low-carb greens, such as rocket or spinach with fresh lemon wedges and a quick blender Béarnaise Sauce.

Just like Hollandaise sauce, this is a quick and simple way to make this sauce with no mess, no fuss. Swap the white wine vinegar with lemon juice and omit the tarragon for classic Hollandaise.

Preparation time

Hands-on:    20 minutes
Overall:     1 hour

Nutritional values (per serving, about 145 g/ 5 oz cooked salmon + 2 tbsp Béarnaise sauce)

Total Carbs	2.6	grams
Fiber	0.5	grams
Net Carbs	2.1	grams
Protein	39.2	grams
Fat	28.2	grams
of which Saturated	13.1	grams
Energy	428	kcal
Magnesium	59	mg (15% RDA)
Potassium	815	mg (41% EMR)

Macronutrient ratio: Calories from carbs (2%), protein (37%), fat (61%)

Ingredients (makes 10 servings) Baked salmon:

• 3.5 kg whole salmon (7.7 lb) - will yield about 50% meat
• 2 whole organic lemons
• 4 shallots or small onions (120 g/ 4.2 oz)
• bunch of tarragon
• few sprigs of thyme
• 75 g grass fed butter or ghee (2.7 oz)
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Quick blender Béarnaise sauce:

• 4.5 oz butter or ghee, melted (127 g, slightly over ½ cup)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Note: Recipe makes about 1 cup of Béarnaise Sauce which will be enough for 10 people (about 2 tablespoons per serving), or up to 5 people (about 4 tablespoons per serving). Béarnaise is best prepared fresh, as reheating will result in clumping and separation of the fats. Lemons are used to infuse the salmon and are therefore partially included in the nutrition facts.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 240 C/ 465 F. Peel the shallots and cut them into halves.
2. Cut the lemons into halves, reserving one half, then into quarters. Cut the reserved lemon half into slices. Slice the butter into slices.
3. Make a series of slashes on either side of the fish. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the cavity of the salmon before placing the lemon wedges, shallot halves, tarragon and thyme into the cavity.
4. Push the lemon slices, butter slices and a few sprigs of tarragon and thyme into the slashes.
5. Using kitchen twine, tie the fish at intervals to prevent the stuffing falling out.
6. Place a baking rack over a tray to fit either oven or barbecue. Don’t worry if the head and/or tail are hanging over slightly. Cook the salmon in your hot oven for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 180 C/ 360 F. Bake for a further 30 minutes.
7. Remove and let cool slightly and then transfer carefully onto a serving platter and remove string.
8. To make the Béarnaise sauce, place egg yolks and white wine vinegar into blender and blend until combined and creamy. Slowly drizzle the melted butter in, blending well in between drizzles until the sauce is thickened. Add the tarragon and blend for a few seconds. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper accordingly. Serve warm.

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