Poached salmon with creamy red pepper sauce

Poached salmon with creamy red pepper sauce is perfect for spooning over buttery mashed potatoes, fluffy white rice or your favourite dish of noodles. It's a comforting and easy meal the whole family will love, whether it's a busy weeknight or a cosy weekend dinner.

In my quest to get more fish into my diet, I came across this old recipe for a salmon and red pepper pie, which I'd quite forgotten about. On reading the recipe I realised that the ingredients, with a slight modification, would make a tasty dish of poached salmon in red pepper sauce which would be perfect to serve with either potatoes, rice or pasta.

I wasn't wrong! I served it spooned over creamy mashed potatoes with steamed vegetables on the side and it was amazingly good. Luckily I made enough of the poached samon for 4 people (even though there are only 2 of us at home) so tonight we're having it again, but this time served over pasta!

The creamy red pepper sauce is made by sauteeing finely chopped onions and red peppers (capsicums) in butter before adding extra flavour by stirring in a cup of tomato passata.

Once that's done, the salmon is poached gently in the red pepper sauce until it can be easily flaked with a fork. Then the sauce is enriched with cream and milk and thickened with cornflour. For a final touch and to add sweetness and contrasting colour, I added some defrosted frozen peas.

The result is a delicious sauce-based poached salmon dish that could loosely be described as a fricassee. Poaching salmon in this way keeps the fish moist and adds a depth of flavour that would be lacking if the fish were to be poached in milk. The sweetness of the red pepper combined with the sharpness of the onion makes an amazingly tasting sauce that pairs beautifully with the earthiness of the salmon.

Let me show you how to make it.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Serving suggestions
• Tips for a successful outcome
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Ingredients

This will easily feed 4 people.

• Salmon fillets - I used a mixture of frozen wild Alaskan salmon and fresh salmon. If you've got frozen salmon fillets they should be defrosted and patted with a paper towel to remove excess moisture before using.
• Onion and capsicum - you may know capsicum as red pepper. Remove the seeds and membranes from the capsicum and cut the capsicum and onion into large chunks. They are going to be finely chopped in a food processor.
• Passata - this is a thick blend of tomatoes that have been sieved to have the seeds and skins removed. It's readily available in supermarkets alongside the canned tomatoes. Here's a recipe for homemade passata if you would like to make your own.
• Butter - used to sautee the onions and capsicum. As it also forms the base of the sauce I wouldn't recommend substituting this with cooking oil.
• Cream - I used single cream, buy you could use double cream if you want a richer sauce. If you don't want to use cream you could use extra milk.
• Milk - this is used for the sauce.
• Cornflour - used to thicken the sauce.

**You can find the exact ingredient measurements for making poached salmon in red pepper sauce on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Instructions

Serving suggestions

This saucy poached red pepper salmon is perfect for spooning over mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.

Or for something a little bit different (and to add more veggies to your meal) why not serve it on a bed of rumbledethumps?

I like to add freshly cooked vegetables on the side. Here are a few ideas that you might like to try:

• minted smashed peas;
• spring green potato mash;
• cheesy gem squash;
• glazed carrots;
• baby marrow with tomato and onion;

And of course don't underestimate the tastiness of freshly steamed green beans, broccoli or brussels sprouts!

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your poached salmon in red pepper sauce always turns out perfectly:

• Ensure the onions and capsicum are chopped very finely. If you don't have a food processor, use a sharp knife and a lot of elbow grease. Then let them soften slowly in butter so the flavours can combine.
• Poach the fish in the sauce until it can be flaked easily with a fork. The actual cooking time for this will depend on the thickness of the salmon fillets.
• Don't make the sauce too thick - the correct consistency is a trail left by a spoon that closes up quite quickly. If the sauce is too thick it will be quite 'claggy' and won't coat your rice or potatoes properly.
• Defrost the frozen peas before adding them to the sauce.
• When you add the flaked salmon and peas to the sauce don't forget to heat them through until piping hot before serving.

Variations

If you don't want to use salmon, you could use any firm white fish to make this dish. Cod or haddock would work well, as would a meaty piece of monkfish. More delicate fish such as sole would not be suitable.

For a hint of heat you could add a pinch of cayenne pepper, but take care not to overpower the delicate flavour of the fish.

Instead of peas, add a small can of drained sweetcorn kernels.

For an easy pasta casserole, make the red pepper and salmon sauce as described above and stir it into a pan of cooked pasta shapes. Top with a mixture of grated cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in a hot oven until the cheese is melted and golden. Serve with a crisp green salad and slices of garlic bread or crusty dinner rolls.

Equipment

I like to make this dish in a large frying pan (with a lid) but you could just as easily use a large saucepan provided it is large enough to poach the salmon filets.

You will also need a food processor to chop up the onions and capsicums. If you don't have a food processor, you can chop the onions and capsicums finely on a chopping board using a sharp knife.

Storage

Leftover salmon in red pepper sauce can be safely stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in a saucepan on the stove.

You can also freeze any uneaten sauce in a suitable freezer container for up to 2 months. I often freeze it, defrost it in the refrigerator and cover it with puff pastry before baking it in the oven at 200C/400F for 15 minutes to make an easy fish pie.

FAQ

Save for later

If you would like to make this poached salmon in creamy red pepper sauce, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Related recipes

Visit my fish and seafood recipes page for other tasty fish dishes. In the meantime, here are a few you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

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