This month’s Food of the World party takes us to Canada, a country with a rich food heritage. Immigrants from many countries brought their food culture and adapted it to Canadian products. We will use many of their products to make a delicious mustard cream sauce served over wild salmon.
Immigrant Influence in Canadian Cuisine
Are you surprised to learn Canada is a major producer of mustard? I had no idea. Mustard has a short growing season that fits right into the Canadian climate. This recipe, based on one found at the Canadian Agricultural board, features a French influence with the creamy sauce as well as a product from Scots immigrants: whiskey.
![By A. Hoen and Co. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lydiasflexitariankitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Humpback_Salmon_Adult_Male.jpg)
By A. Hoen and Co. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The sauce is great over vegetables and other meats as well. I used the leftover sauce as a salad dressing one day and used it to make mashed potatoes another.
Ingredients
For the Mustard Cream Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onions or shallots
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon Canadian style whiskey
- 2 teaspoons dijon style mustard
- 2 tablespoons whole grain style mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth plus more if needed
- 1 cup cream
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Salmon
- About a pound of salmon cut into portions
- salt and pepper to taste
- maple syrup for basting
Instructions
Make the sauce first, it will keep while the salmon is cooking
- In a medium saucepan, saute the onions in the butter until tender.
- Stir in the white wine, splash of whiskey and the mustards. Cook for 5 minutes or so.
- Stir in the broth and thyme.
- Reduce the heat and allow the liquid to reduce about half.
- Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper.
- Continue to simmer over low heat until the desired consistency is reached. Add more broth, cream or mustard as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Prepare the Salmon
- Sprinkle the portions with salt and pepper and generously baste with maple syrup.
- Cook the salmon using any method desired. I baked mine for about 10 minutes at 350°F, then basted a second time before returning to the oven until finished. The fish will flake easily away from the skin.
Unfortunately the Food of the World Party is no longer happening. I did appreciate the opportunity to explore food cultures. It interesting how food, music and crafts connect us.
An Awesome sauce!!!
I was going to try and halve the sauce ingredients, but couldn’t be bothered to work out the half of everything, so I just stuck to the recipe, it was absolutely amazing. then the wife says, as she Is calorie counting, what we’re calories of the dish, I said did you like it? she said it is Beautiful, So i said if you like something that much when you’re shopping, don’t ask the price 😩😂😂 just enjoy it.
Thank you Mark! We like this, too.
This sauce sounds divine. Trying it out tomorrow for my Easter dinner. I’m making a turkey breast and a ham, but I’m sure it will be delish! Will try it on salmon later on this week. Love the suggestion of using coconut as a substitute since I am eating free.
How was it? I’ll bet it was good on both the turkey and the ham!
I tried this sauce last night on our salmon and it was perfect!! My husband saw me putting the maple syrup on the salmon and was skeptical but the ingredient added just a slight complexity to the overall taste with the sauce. This is a winner and a keeper. Just would like to know if I can make the sauce in advance and just reheat at the last minute? Many thanks!
Hi Maria! I’m glad to hear you all enjoyed the salmon and the mustard sauce. I don’t see why you couldn’t make the sauce ahead of time. You might need to add more cream or milk to thin it out a bit.
Never thought of salmon being Canadian.. but then growing up in Saskatchewan we didn’t really have salmon in our streams.. but I did know that mustard is grown in Canada.. Many mustard seed fields around where I grew up. But now living in Upper Michigan I can get Lake Superior Salmon often.. Need to give this recipe a try … Although I do know Canadians like their drinks.. I don’t think I will buy any whiskey to make this, will have to figure out a substitute.
You could probably omit the whiskey altogether, Marlys.
This is going on my menu for the upcoming week, sounds incredible!
Please let me know how you like it, Nancy. Thanks 🙂
Just wanted to let you know we really enjoyed this. I substituted canned coconut milk for the cream to make it dairy free, and used bourbon instead of whiskey because that’s what we had on hand. Another great recipe and so easy!
Oh yum! I’ll bet the coconut milk was a nice substitution. Glad you liked it, Nancy 🙂
I love salmon and I love mustard, what an awesome combination!
Hope you’re able to give it a try soon 🙂
This looks so good. Love having Salmon for dinner and that creamy mustard sauce sounds delicious. Definitely going to give it a go
Salmon is a weekly staple here and I’m always looking for new flavour combinations to try, I will have to try this, that sauce looks divine!
My family love salmon. In fact we had it for dinner last night. This is a very interesting sauce which I will definitely try. Thanks
What a yummy nod to all things Canadian! I didn’t know about the mustard, but it makes sense. This dish is beautiful.
Thank you for the kind words, Erin 🙂
Salmon with a bit of whisky – I’m in! Living in Seattle we eat our fare share of salmon (seriously, at least once a week) and have been looking for a new recipe. Thank you! Pinned to recipes to try!
Thank you for pinning, Kathi. Hope your family likes the recipe 🙂
Sounds delicious. I am so trying this sauce.
Please let me know how you like it, Sara 🙂
I have salmon in my freezer, and no dinner plans. That just changed after checking out your recipe! This looks great and thanks for saving dinner! 🙂
I hope your family likes it as much as we did 🙂
I am loving this dish. Recently made it but yours looks so much better.
Thanks, Peter. It’s a delish combination, isn’t it?
I love salmon! Lucky for me, my husband loves to fish for salmon! 🙂 Because of the abundance of salmon we usually have around – fresh, frozen, canned and smoked – I am always looking for a new recipe. This one looks and sounds really good. I have never basted my salmon with maple syrup before but it sounds delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
The maple syrup worked out great, but you’ll have your own honey to use. I’m sure it will taste awesome 🙂
Nope, news to me that Canada was a big mustard producer! Always love learning fun stuff. And fun recipes — this looks great. Thanks!