Roasted Salmon Steaks with Pinot Noir Sauce

Many years ago I used to manage a vendor that was based in White Plains, New York, which gave me the opportunity to see my sister Molly a bunch while traveling there for business. One night, she and AAden had prepared this meal and I could not wrap my head around how delicious the Pinot Noir sauce was. It’s like, sweet but the rosemary brings out sort of a smoky quality of the wine. I don’t know. I’m not all that sophisticated, but this sauce is unbelievable. You will undoubtedly think you’ve fucked it all up when the whole pot turns into hard candy when you add the wine. Just take a deep breath, put it back on the stove to heat, and soon you’ll be licking the plate clean.

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Serving Size: 4 servings

Chef: Mark Bittman, New York Times

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Roasted Salmon Steaks with Pinot Noir Sauce

This sauce is to die for.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Ingredients

For the Salmon

• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
• 4 salmon steaks, each about ½ pound
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Sauce

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups pinot noir
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place sugar in heavy-bottomed saucepan, preferably nonstick and with rounded sides, and turn heat to medium. Cook without stirring (just shake the pan occasionally to redistribute sugar) until sugar liquefies and begins to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and carefully add wine.
2. Turn heat to high, and cook, stirring, until caramel dissolves again. Add rosemary sprig, and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is syrupy and reduced to just over 1/2 cup, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. As liquid reduces, heat a nonstick skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper, then place in pan and immediately transfer to oven. Cook 3 minutes, then turn salmon and cook another 3 minutes. Remove salmon when medium-rare or thereabouts (or cook another minute or two if you like it more done), and keep warm.
4. When sauce is reduced, stir in balsamic vinegar and butter and turn heat to medium-low. Cook until butter melts. Season with salt and pepper, and remove rosemary sprig. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve over salmon, garnished with chopped rosemary.

Notes

Don’t get frustrated and pull the sauce before it really thickens up. This process always makes me think of the adage, “ a watched pot never boils” because the reduction part takes FOREVER.

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