Dilled Salmon with Low-fat Hollandaise Sauce

It seems my creativity can only flow in one direction at a time. For the past several weeks, I've been very busy preparing four new sewing patterns for publication, so I apologize for the infrequent postings lately. But don't worry, I'm still cooking! It's been fun going into the archives and rediscovering some of my old favorite recipes.

My daughter is home from college for the summer and this recipe was partly her creation. She made her seared dill salmon for me one evening and I just happened to have some of my low-fat hollandaise sauce leftover in the fridge. The sauce was the perfect finishing touch to her delightful recipe.

Real hollandaise sauce is made from 2-3 eggs, 2 sticks of butter and lemon juice, which is so loaded with saturated fat I might have a heart attack just thinking about it! My mock hollandaise sauce starts with a convenient dry mix and is less than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving. The packaged dry hollandaise mix, when made according to the directions, can be a bit gravy-like and too dull for me, so I spiced it up with a pinch of cayenne and more lemon. It makes ten low-fat servings, so you'll have plenty leftover for eggs benedict, asparagus or another fish dish later in the week.

Dilled Salmon with Low-fat Hollandaise Sauce
(Makes 2 servings)

1 packet of Hollandaise sauce mix (I use Knorr brand)
1 cup skim milk or Fat-free Hood Calorie Countdown Dairy Beverage
2 tablespoons Smart Balance buttery spread
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 center-cut salmon fillets (5 oz. each, no skin)
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Fresh chopped dill or dried
1 tablespoon Canola oil or Grapeseed Oil (for high temp cooking, not olive oil)

1. Mix the milk and sauce mix in a small saucepan until well blended. Heat the hollandaise sauce over medium-low heat according to package directions, except only add 2 tablespoons of buttery spread (instead of ¼ cup butter as the package recommends). After it boils for 1 minute, remove from heat and add cayenne pepper and lemon juice; set aside.

2. Heat a heavy skillet over medium to high heat (I use a cast-iron skillet). Season salmon fillets with salt & pepper on both sides, and season liberally with dill only on one side. Rub the oil on each side. When skillet is very hot, place the oiled salmon in the pan, dill side down and do not disturb for at least 2 minutes until a brown crust has formed. Turn salmon and sear other side for at least two minutes. Turn again and complete cooking to desired doneness. (If you like your salmon on the rare side, the 2 minutes per side should be fine. I like mine cooked through to flaky and no longer pink in center, which takes another 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook, or fish will be dry.) Remove to serving plate and top each serving with 2 tablespoons hollandaise sauce. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information per serving: 274.5 calories, 2.75 g carbohydrate, 9.35 g total fat, 3.8 g saturated fat, 196.5 mg sodium, 0 g fiber, 31.3 g protein.

Original recipe by Maralee and Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2010