Dinner tonight: poached salmon with creamy dill sauce and baked skate

For a delicious and satisfying meal, whip up these two fish recipes the whole family with love.

Cool and refreshing, this recipe tastes like springtime on a plate. Diced cucumbers add juicy crunch to the sour cream dill sauce that's dolloped over salmon poached in white wine. For the richest flavour, buy wild Alaskan salmon, in season from May to September.

Prep time 15 min 

Cook time 10 min 

Serves 4

• 375 ml (1 1/2 c) water
• 250 ml (1 c) dry white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 8 black peppercorns
• 4 salmon fillets (about 750 g/1 1/2 lb)
• 175 ml (3/4 c) sour cream
• 100 ml (1/3 c) peeled, diced cucumber
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) snipped fresh dill
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh lemon juice
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
• 0.5 ml (1/8 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh dill sprigs

1. Pour the water into a large nonstick skillet. Stir in the wine or broth, scallions and peppercorns. Put the salmon in the skillet in a single layer. Bring to just a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about six minutes.
3. Meanwhile, stir the sour cream, cucumber, snipped dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
4. Carefully transfer the fish with a slotted spatula to a large platter. Add the dill sprigs. Serve hot or chilled with sauce.

Stir 10 millilitres (two teaspoons) prepared horseradish into the sauce for extra zing.

Mild and tender, skate wings benefit from a good dose of acidity. In this simple dish, extra flavour comes from balsamic vinegar, capers, butter, shallots and something your guests will marvel at: pickles.

Prep time 15 min 

Cook time 20 min 

Serves 4

• 75 g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 2 large skate wings (about 1 kg/2 lb), rinsed
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) balsamic or sherry vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) whole capers
• 3 small gherkins, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Use a little of the butter to grease a shallow baking dish, which must be large enough to hold the skate flat in a single layer. Cut each skate wing into two pieces, place them in the baking dish and dot them with the remaining butter.
3. Sprinkle the fish with the shallots and the balsamic or sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake the skate, un­covered, until the thickest part of the skate wing flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the fish with the capers and pickles and baste with the cooking juices just before serving.

Fill out the meal by adding some small tomato halves to the baking dish and roasting new potatoes in the oven alongside the fish.