Salmon with Norwegian Sandefjordsmør sauce

Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5. Put a sheet of foil onto a baking sheet with a lip around it. Brush the area where you will put your fillets with some melted butter. Arrange the fish on top, skin-side down, and brush with the remaining melted butter. Season.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. If your fillets are flat, they will take 8 minutes. If they’re chunky, they’ll take 10 minutes, maybe a little more. Cover the fillets with foil and a couple of thick tea towels to keep them warm.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan over a high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, then whisk in 2-3 chunks of the cold butter, whisking all the time. Allow each chunk to melt before you add more. The sauce will begin to thicken – don’t allow it to boil. When you’ve added ½ the cold butter, add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with ground white pepper and salt. Taste. It’s easy to overdo the lemon (most recipes for this suggest using the juice of ½ a lemon – that’s much too acidic).

Continue to whisk as you add the rest of the cold butter. Stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a bit more lemon juice if the sauce needs it. Add a little cayenne pepper too (that is also traditional). Put the fillets on warmed plates and spoon over the sauce. Serve any extra in a small jug, with boiled baby potatoes and green beans, if liked.