Cooking with IKEA: salmon in orange sauce

Fancy a different idea for something to go with a delicious salmon fillet? Today, at #CookingWithIKEA, we'll be showing you a super simple and quick recipe for a healthy, nutritious and very Swedish dish: salmon in orange sauce.

Enjoy! 

Meet the chef  

Meet Oscar Gandarillas, the chef who'll be taking you through this traditional Swedish recipe step by step.

Oscar has been part of the IKEA Family for over 15 years, but his love for cooking dates back to when he was young. Oscar is hugely experienced, having studied Hospitality and Catering and working for many years in the kitchens of various traditional restaurants in Cantabria and Biscay. He's also worked at various catering establishments.

Our chef wanted to surprise us with a typical and traditional Swedish dish whose main ingredient is salmon. What could be more Nordic than that?

Salmon is one of the healthiest fish you can find, as it is an excellent source of vitamins such as B12 and B6, while also being rich in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Did you know?

IKEA salmon meets the global ASC standard for responsible aquaculture. This means that the salmon (like all our other seafood and fish products) is bred in a sustainable way, taking care of our health and that of the planet.  

Ingredients (serves four):

• 1 pack of SJÖRAPPORT salmon fillets
• 600 g of new potatoes (medium-small)
• 500 g of asparagus
• 3 oranges 200 g of butter
• 100 g of sugar
• 200 ml of white wine
• Chives or parsley
• Dill
• Salt and pepper 

Method

Let's start with the sides dishes, as the prep time is longer and we do not want the fish to be left standing. Follow these simple steps:

• First, cook the potatoes (clean and unpeeled) in a pan of boiling water for about 18 minutes.
• While the potatoes are cooking, quickly blanch the asparagus in a different pan for 3–4 minutes.
• Once they are ready, sauté the potatoes and asparagus in a wok. Add a little butter to give them that golden finish everyone loves. Note: if you don't have a wok, you can always use a regular frying pan.  
• After a few seconds of sautéing, season with salt and pepper and add the chopped dill. Sauté a bit more for extra flavour and it’s ready! 

We already have the side dishes ready for our orange salmon recipe. The steps are really simple — just remember this order: 

1. Cook
2. Blanch
3. Sauté
4. Season  

Super easy! Now we can prepare the salmon. Let's begin! 

How to cook the salmon  

• First, place the four fillets on a plate or tray and season them with salt. Be careful not to add too much. 
• Now we're going to heat up the pan in which the fish will be cooked.  
• Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Chef's advice: add a splash of olive oil to prevent the butter from burning.  
• Immediately add the sugar over a medium-low heat so that it doesn't brown too much. Two to three tablespoons will be more than enough. 
• Now fry the salmon fillets in this caramelised mix for just one minute on each side. It doesn't matter if it's not completely done, because you’ll finish cooking it once you add the orange juice. 
• Remove the fillets and set them aside while you prepare the sauce. If you use a kitchen spatula, it will be easier to remove the entire fillet without the risk of it breaking.  

The orange sauce  

We’re nearly at the end of this easy recipe! It's already looking really good, isn’t it? Now, let's finish off the last few steps: preparing the orange sauce for this salmon recipe.

• In the same pan you used to melt the butter and fry the salmon, add in the chopped chives and toss them well.
• Add some white wine and let it evaporate.
• Squeeze all three oranges until you obtain a full glass of juice. Then add it to the pan.
• Let everything reduce a bit.
• Put the salmon fillets back in and let everything cook. Chef’s tip: cover the pan with the lid to cook everything faster. Give it another two to three minutes and it will be ready to eat. Make sure you don’t cook it for too long or the fish will become dry. 

Plating

A great dish deserves a great presentation. But let’s be honest, we all love it when our recipes delight our guests —both for their taste and appearance. So let’s plate this dish professionally:  

as you can see, we went for a white plate. Never underestimate the simplicity of a white plate, because the various colours of the ingredients stand out much more on a light background. That said, we always encourage you to experiment and let your imagination run wild. So combine any colour and print you want. However, always keep the rest of the table decor in mind so that everything looks good together in the end.   

Oh! And if you have any questions about which tableware to buy, click here to find a guide that will help you find something that best suit your needs, style and, of course, your budget. If you're interested, just click here. 

Steps:

• Place the salmon fillet in the centre of the plate, as a the star of the dish.
• On one side or both, plate the whole potatoes unpeeled.
• Then, top the salmon with some asparagus.
• Finally, add the sauce to unleash the flavour.