Poaching is a very easy way to cook fish and is really nice, provided you make an interesting sauce or drizzle to go with it.  Unlike frying or grilling, it doesn’t smell throughout the house either.   For this meal, I made aioli, a delicious natural garlic mayonnaise.  You can see the recipe in the sauces section of this blog, where I’ve just posted it.  You can make both the aioli and the poached salmon a day in advance if you feel like it.

For 2:
2 salmon darnes, ideally wild or organic, about 130g each
3-4 bay leaves and a sprig or small handful each of thyme, parsley if you have them
A good glug of white wine (about 1/3-1/2 a cup, you don’t have to be exact)

To serve:
Aioli (you will need a raw egg yolk, 150ml extra virgin olive oil, and 3 cloves of garlic for the aioli)
A fresh, mixed salad tossed in a few spoons of homemade dressing (I will be posting everyday salad and simple dressing recipes shortly).
Optional: baby boiled or new potatoes (omit for ketogenic eating plan)

1. Boil the kettle.  Into a saucepan place your fish, the herbs, white wine, and enough boiling water to cover the fish by about 2-3cm.
2. Slowly bring to a gentle simmer.  You don’t want the water to bubble furiously or this will make the fish tough.  Keep the water at a gentle simmer for 8 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, water, and all, cover, and allow to sit while you prepare your salad and aioli.  It will continue to cook very gently just by sitting in the pan off the heat.  It doesn’t matter if the fish sits for 10 minutes or an hour.  You can even cook the fish one day, allow it to cool in the water, and put the whole saucepan with its liquid in the fridge to eat the following day if you want.  Just allow it to come to room temperature before eating as no one likes chilled fish.
4. When you are ready to eat, remove the fish from its cooking liquid with a fish slice, allow it to drain, and put it on 2 plates with a dollop of aioli.  Serve with large mixed salad tossed in a homemade dressing.

Why this is good for you:
The whole world is probably aware by now that omega 3 fats from fish are incredibly useful for every cell in our body.  They make your billions of cell membranes flexible so nutrients can get in and waste products get out.  This is really great for every bit of your body including your brain.  Eating a serving of oily fish 3 times a week (try to get wild/organic) gives most people enough omega 3.  If you are deficient because you don’t eat oily fish this often then you may need a high-quality supplement for at least 6 months.  But quality is crucial – you are better off not supplementing at all than buying low-quality oils in supermarkets and international health stores (we all know who I mean).  If you’d like to know more about omega 3, watch my videos about fats on www.youtube.com/annacollinsnutrition

Aioli is packed with good-for-you extra virgin olive oil – rich in vitamin E and polyphenols that reduce inflammation in you.  In the popular mind, fats make us fat.  It is not natural, unprocessed fats that are the offender but high carbohydrate diets.  This means diets are top-heavy with grains (even whole grains) and also sugar.  High carb low-fat diets leave you hungry and craving more….and more.  Stop the madness, reduce carbohydrates and enjoy unprocessed fats.