Olive Oil Poached Salmon with Fingerling Potatoes and Tarragon
Speed - 95%
Simplicity - 98%
Tastiness - 97%
97%
Great!
This is a new way for me to prepare salmon and I loved it! The Olive Oil Poached Salmon with Fingerling Potatoes and Tarragon is a winner in my house.

Ingredients
Poached Salmon
- 4 4 ounche Salmon Filets, skin removed
- 2-5 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to cover Salmon)
- 3 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 10 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- Salt and Pepper
Potato Salad
- 3 pounds Fingerling Potatoes
- 1/3 cup Dry White Wine
- 1/2 medium Red Onion, sliced very thin
- 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 sprigs Fresh Tarragon, torn
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 whole Lemons, cut into wedges
Instructions
Poached Salmon
- Season salmon with salt and pepper. Bring olive oil with garlic and thyme to a stable 180 degrees.
- Add salmon and maintain 180 degree temperature for 12-16 minutes or until flesh is opaque pink and flaky.
- Remove and drain on a towel until ready to serve.
Potato Salad
- Cover potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer at least 20 minutes, till just able to pierce them with a fork.
- Meanwhile, soak red onion slices in cold water. Drain and set aside.
- Once potatoes are done, drain and place in bowl, drizzle over white wine and let absorb.
- Blend dijon with olive oil, dress potatoes, and flake in poached salmon, and add herbs, folding gently.
Olive oil poached salmon is a luxurious way to enjoy this already delicious fish. With the addition of fresh herbs and garlic, the oil is lightly infused with these aromatics. If you're as big a fan of garlic as I am, add a clove or two extra into the oil! Be sure to use cold press extra virgin olive oil for the highest quality, and never turn the heat up past medium-high or it may quickly jump in temperature and start smoking, releasing harmful carcinogens. A normal meat thermometer works just fine for this recipe.
This particular potato salad calls for fingerling potatoes, but any yellow variety on hand would work well. If you wish to reduce the cooking time in any case, you can pre-cut the potatoes and simmer them for less time.
Season the salmon with salt and pepper liberally on both sides. Using a pot that has a large enough surface area that the salmon can sit inside it without touching, bring the olive oil with garlic and thyme to 180 degrees Fahrenheit over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and make sure you are able to hold a stable 180 degrees, with little bubbles appearing now and then across the surface of the oil.
There's a lot of oil featured in these photos. You don't need that much. But we were cooking a bunch of salmon so used about four cups. You can use less if you are using less salmon. You just need enough to cover it to create the oil-poaching.
Add the salmon– at this point, the oil's temperature will drop, so bring the heat back up to medium-high and find the 180 degree temperature again, stabilizing by adjusting the heat as needed. Poach salmon for 12-16 minutes, or until its flesh is lighter pink, opaque and flakes easily away from itself.
Remove the salmon with a slotted spatula and set aside on paper towels, until ready to serve.
For the potato salad, cover the potatoes in a large pot with cold water, salt it very well, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer at least 20 minutes, depending on the size of the potato, or till you are just able to pierce them with a fork.
Meanwhile, soak the red onion slices in very cold water for 8 to 10 minutes. This will remove a bit of their harshness so you can enjoy their delicious flavor without the pain of extreme onion breath afterwards. Drain them and set aside.
Once potatoes are done, drain and place in bowl, drizzle the white wine over and let it absorb. This adds a nice nuance to the dish, I find, and as long as you use a fresh dry white wine the alcohol should go unnoticed by your guests. However if you wish to avoid alcohol, it is an optional step.
Blend the dijon with olive oil and do not worry about blending it fully, as the dressing may appear to be in a ‘broken' state. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and salt and pepper the mixture to your liking. Break up the poached salmon into the bowl and add the herbs, folding gently.
Garnish with a generous amount of lemon wedges, serve with the same leftover chilled white wine alongside a crisp fresh garden salad.

Ingredients
Poached Salmon
- 4 4 ounche Salmon Filets, skin removed
- 2-5 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to cover Salmon)
- 3 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 10 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- Salt and Pepper
Potato Salad
- 3 pounds Fingerling Potatoes
- 1/3 cup Dry White Wine
- 1/2 medium Red Onion, sliced very thin
- 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 sprigs Fresh Tarragon, torn
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 whole Lemons, cut into wedges
Instructions
Poached Salmon
- Season salmon with salt and pepper. Bring olive oil with garlic and thyme to a stable 180 degrees.
- Add salmon and maintain 180 degree temperature for 12-16 minutes or until flesh is opaque pink and flaky.
- Remove and drain on a towel until ready to serve.
Potato Salad
- Cover potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer at least 20 minutes, till just able to pierce them with a fork.
- Meanwhile, soak red onion slices in cold water. Drain and set aside.
- Once potatoes are done, drain and place in bowl, drizzle over white wine and let absorb.
- Blend dijon with olive oil, dress potatoes, and flake in poached salmon, and add herbs, folding gently.
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