Hazelnut Salmon with Frangelico Cream Sauce

Budget, caution, and diet were thrown to the wind when I decided to make Hazelnut Encrusted Salmon with Frangelico Cream Sauce today. Salmon was being freshly cut at the fish market and I had the opportunity of obtaining two salmon steaks. Salmon steaks are perfect for baking in the oven in my estimation because they hold their shape much better than a fillet. This is only the second time in my life I have ever made this recipe but when I got the steaks I knew I wanted to try the recipe again. It's definitely one for a special occasion due to the expense of the ingredients and the number of calories it surely must contain.

Here are the two salmon steaks, thick, thick thick. Basically the hazelnut encrusted portion of the recipe is easy enough. Take a good quality mayonnaise, yes mayonnaise, and brush both sides of the salmon and dip in coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Are you seeing how the calories are adding up here?

Place the salmon steaks in a glass baking dish and sprinkle with either fresh or dried tarragon. Place dish in a preheated 400 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, 15 minutes for thinner steaks. Steaks are done when a fork inserted goes in easily and the flesh flakes easily. I slid a fork into one edge to take a peak inside to be sure the salmon was cooked through since these were such thick steaks.

While the salmon is baking, steam your broccoli and prepare the Frangelico cream sauce. For the sauce place one and one half teaspoons of cornstarch in the top of a double boiler and mix with just enough water to take out the lumps. Add one cup of heavy cream, yes heavy. See what I mean about the budget, caution, and diet going out the window? Stir in 3 tablespoons of Frangelico liqueur and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Stir for less than a minute then remove from the heat.

Once mixture has thickened immediately remove pan from heat and place in a water bath and keep stirring to cool the mixture down. When sauce is cooled down to room temperature stir in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Remove sauce from water bath and set aside and stir occasionally so a film doesn't develop on the surface of the sauce.

Remove salmon steaks from oven, place on a plate with broccoli, and drizzle with the sauce and serve. The Frangelico cream sauce can also be used over ice cream, fruit, cake, or even vegetables. You'll be in heaven when you take your first bite of Hazelnut Encrusted Salmon with Frangelica Cream Sauce. Bon Appetit and thanks for reading and for all your comments.