Tarragon Roasted Salmon with Creamy Avocado Sauce

I've been in California for about two months now and I thought as a tribute to the state I would make something with a creamy green buttery vegetable - yes, the one and only avocado!  I absolutely LOVE avocados and every market, grocery store, supermarket that I enter has a huge abundance of them.  I make salmon once a week but usually in the same style - dill crusted- so I was looking around for something new to try when the latest addition of the Bon Appetit magazine arrived at my doorstep with a glossy photo of  bright orange salmon on its cover.  I flipped through it and was pleasantly surprised at the 60 great light summer recipes inside.  Most were easy to assemble and perfect for the gorgeous weather that has graced San Francisco over the past few weekends.

The first few pages featured a recipe called "Poached Salmon with Avocado Sauce."  I decided to just grill the salmon as I normally do instead of poaching it.  Before putting it in the oven I salted the pieces generously, sprinkled some olive oil over the top, and covered them with a few pieces of fresh tarragon.  While the salmon was in the oven I scooped the flesh from two ripe avocados into a food processor adding yogurt, lime juice, cumin, and salt, and blended it together to form a delicious creamy avocado sauce.

After about 15 minutes I spread the avocado sauce across the bottom of the plate and placed the salmon on it.  The dish looks pretty with the orange tarragon speckled salmon contrasting nicely with the pastel green sauce beneath it.  The taste also does not disappoint; the flaky salmon with its hint of tarragon complements the butteriness from the avocado sauce beautifully.

If you enjoy avocados this is a great dish to make.  It only takes 20 minutes and has summer written all over it.

Salmon with Avocado Sauce  (Adapted From June edition of Bon Appetit Magazine)


Ingredients (for 2 ppl)


2 8-0z Salmon Fillets
A few tarragon leaves
2 ripe avocados
1 cup plain low or nonfat yogurt
1tbsp lime juice
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin (add a little to begin with and adjust to your taste)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Directions


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Salt the salmon fillets generously, sprinkle with olive oil, and add a few tarragon leaves.  Put them in the oven once it has heated up.

Scoop out the avocados and add it to the food processor (make sure avocados are a bit soft from the outside or ripe).

Add the yogurt, lime juice, cumin, and a little salt and pulse until mixture becomes a smooth silky sauce.

Taste and add more salt and lime according to your taste.  I like a little tang so I usually add a little more lime.

Take the salmon out of the oven after 15 minutes or when it is done and place it on top of the avocado sauce.

Serve immediately.