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Active Time
40 min
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Total Time
50 min
Despite the fact that salmon seems to be everywhere these days, this dish is something very special. Mustard-herb butter gives a lemony pop to the meatiness of the fish, while French green lentils add a unique texture that regular brown lentils just don't have.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
For mustard-herb butter
For lentils
For salmon
Make mustard-herb butter:
Step 1
Stir together all ingredients with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Cook lentils:
Step 2
Bring lentils, water, and 3/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid, then drain lentils.
Step 3
While lentils cook, chop leeks, thenwash. Cook leeks in butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Step 4
Add lentils with reserved cooking liquid to leeks along with 3 tablespoons mustard-herb butter and cook, stirring, until lentils are heated through and butter is melted. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered.
Sauté salmon while leeks cook:
Step 5
Pat salmon dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total).
Step 6
Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté salmon, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total.
Step 7
Serve salmon, topped with remaining mustard-herb butter, over lentils.
·Mustard-herb butter can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Soften at room temperature before using (1 hour).
·Lentils can be cooked (but not drained) 1 day ahead and chilled in cooking liquid, covered (once cool).
How would you rate Salmon with Lentils and Mustard-Herb Butter (_Saumon aux Lentilles_)?
Leave a Review
Reviews (192)
Back to TopI’ve made this a few times now. It never disappoints and is delicious to me. Substituted green onion for the leeks this time and it worked fine. Very tasty!
jpriest
Hilliard,OH
11/9/2020
Huge hit with the family - the lentils were so delicious we almost didn't need the salmon. Added carrots and celery to the leeks to up the veg intake. Delicious and a definite keeper - easy to make as well!
kunjan
Portland, OR
4/16/2020
Loved this. Made w olive oil instead of butter and dried tarragon instead of fresh. It was top notch. Fed littles and bigs alike. Went great with a Pinot and braised hearty greens with lemon and red pepper. Only downside is we used four pans!!
danasexton
Sonoma, CA
4/5/2020
@DANKB FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA / A lot of recipes call for unsalted butter so you can control the salt content. Every brand of salted butter has a different % of salt so hard to control in a recipe.
Anonymous
MD
4/2/2020
Very good. But why does the recipe call for UNsalted butter and then have me add salt?
DanKB
Northern Virginia
12/1/2019
This truly was an excellent dish. I had to search for French lentils, but agree that the richness of the taste adds to this recipe. I will make this again over the holidays.
Anonymous
Rochester, Minnesota
11/17/2019
This is one of my favorite recipes. It is a lot of butter, but as the French say..."More butter, more better!" I just added a little mashed potatoes and all was loved. I didn't change a thing. FAB and easy!
lrazze
Coopersburg, PA
9/11/2019
I’m adding to my previous review. We now always add preserved lemon peal to the lentil mixture. Leftover lentil mixture is wonderful gently reheated with lardons of bacon and poached or over-easy eggs for a wonderful and filling breakfast. (We usually make extra to make sure there will be leftovers!)
blest93
Novato
2/15/2019
Easy enough but elegant for company. Plated with seared green beans, it looked like a restaurant meal. My "medium" leeks might have been too large. A little too "leeky" for my taste (used about 2-3 cups of leeks for 2x?). I added a handful or two of chopped dried cherries because it was red and tangy and it seemed appropriate for Christmas. Lovely addition. Will make again. How can the French use such simple ingredients but make it taste so delicious!?
teacherhansen
Minneapolis, MN
12/24/2018
Very delicious and satisfying meal. The small number of spices/herbs pull together to give so much flavor, and my fiancé, who is hit-and-miss with salmon, raved about this meal.
sweinmann147049
Minneapolis, MN
10/12/2018
I only made the lentils with the compound butter. IT IS AMAZINGLY YUMMY! Definitely company material. Just like like I remember having in Paris! The only thing I changed was substituting leeks with shallots. Leeks weren't in season any more and couldn't find them. We had it with our favorite salmon recipe. I was afraid the butter taste would get to be too much on both the lentils and the salmon. But, yes, I'll make it again!
lrazze
Coopersburg, PA
5/24/2018
Love it. Made this exactly per the recipe on Monday night and it was delicious! I will do the salmon sous vide next time for more uniform cooking. The thinner ends of the fillets were a bit overdone.
dementad
Seattle, WA
9/21/2017
爱地壳在鲑鱼!比我的husband broils skin-on salmon in the oven with the door open. (sets off the smoke alarm every time) Used dill in place of tarragon and added chicken stock to the lentils. Perfect flavor pairing along with some roasted asparagus.
Anonymous
Reno NV
8/28/2017
One of the best epicurious recipes, holy cow. Only had parsley on hand so that's what went into the butter. Would try any similar herb. Delicious.
kathwalker
Brooklyn
5/24/2017
Delicious recipe that doesn't require a ton of ingredients. I had fresh dill in the refrigerator so I substituted it for the tarragon and it turned out delicious. I also added some chicken base to the lentil cooking water to impart a little more flavor to the lentils. Based on earlier reviews I cut back slightly on the mustard and used Plochman's which is a creamier stone ground mustard and it worked well.
nmura
Glenview, IL
1/16/2017
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