Baked Salmon with Tarragon-Glazed Cucumber

Source:  Sunset Magazine

8 oz thin skinned cucumber
1.5 lb salmon fillet cut into 4 pieces
5 T butter, divided
1 T lemon juice
salt, pepper
1/2 c minced shallots
1 T coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
1.5 c Champagne vinegar
2 T coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees . Dice enough cucumbers to make 3/4 cup.  Cut the remaining cucumbers in half lengthwise.  Thinly slice crosswise.

Set salmon skin side down in a 9x13 pan lined with tinfoil.  Melt 1 T butter and mix with lemon juice, 1/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.  Spoon over fish.  Bake salmon until barely opaque but still moist in the center -- 10-13 minutes.

While fish bakes,  combine shallots, chopped tarragon and vinegar in 10 inch frying pan.  Boil over high heat, stirring often until vinegar evaporates but shallots still look wet -- 4-5 minutes.  Add 1 T butter, remove from heat and stir until melts.  Stir in diced cucumbers.  Return cucumber mixture to high heat, and cook, stirring often, until slightly translucent, about 1-2 minutes.  Add remaining 3 T butter and 1/4 t salt.  Stir just until butter melts and sauce looks creamy.  Remove from heat and stir in sliced cucumber and parsley.

I get a lot of cucumbers in my CSA box each week.  And while I love a good cucumber salad, and most variations thereon, I was intrigued by a recipe that involved doing something completely different with the cucumber.  Then salmon was on sale at Whole Foods.  I am always looking to eat more fish, and salmon is on of the few types of fish (OK, maybe the only one) that I feel comfortable making.  So all the stars aligned.

I ended up using red wine vinegar instead of Champagne vinegar (don't ask -- kept forgetting ingredients, and having to go back to the store -- wasn't going to make yet another trip).  And I just used a regular old cucumber -- no fancy English cucumber. I did peel mine, b/c the recipe emphasized a think skinned variety.

There are a couple of steps to make this dish, but it comes together pretty quickly.  It looks beautiful, fresh and colorful.  And it's delicious.  The slightly cooked cucumber just provides a slightly different texture.   A great dish.  Not as light as you would think -- after all there are 5 tablespoons of butter involved.  Also, the cucumber concoction is very acidic, so I would recommend serving this dish with a starch -- some new potatoes would be delicious.  Wonderful meal.  I hope you all try it.