This might just be the perfect weeknight dinner.  Healthy, light yet filling, and lightning fast.  Enough said.  No really, let’s just let the picture do the talking.

1 bay leaf
6-7 parsley stems, leaves removed
1 lemon, sliced

1 tbsp whole black peppercorns (optional)

1 tsp dried dill (optional, but adds those lovely, tiny flecks on the cooked salmon)

1 lb salmon filet, either whole or portioned in two

3/4 cup non-fat greek style yogurt, such as Fage

Juice and zest of half a lemon

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tsp honey

1 clove garlic, finely minced

In a large, shallow saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all ingredients for salmon except the fish fillets and bring to a simmer.  Carefully add the salmon fillets, skin side down, making sure they’re just barely covered by the liquid.  Add 1 cup more water if necessary.  Bring the liquid back to a simmer, then lower heat to medium to keep at a gentle simmer and cook for 8 minutes.  If your fish is thicker than 1 inch, it might require an additional 2 -3 minutes.  Turn the heat off and allow the fish the rest in the liquid an additional 5 minutes.  This allows the center of the fish to finish cooking, while not overcooking the exterior of the fillet.  Do be careful about overcooking this fish. In my opinion, poached salmon is at its best when the center is still the slightest bit translucent.  Besides, the hot water rest also keeps it nice and warm for serving while you finish up your side dishes.  Here’s a shot of the fish mid-cooking.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the herbed yogurt sauce and stir well to combine.  Whenever I add raw garlic to a sauce that won’t be cooked, I recommend grating it with your microplane so no one bites down on a big chunk of garlic (aka, the opposite of yum).  Season this well with salt and pepper since no salt went on the fish itself.  Tonight I had a little creme fraiche on hand, so I made my sauce with half yogurt/half creme fraiche.  This will also work with fairly good success with sour cream, if you happen to be running short on the yogurt, though the sauce will be thinner.  Here’s a shot of that tasty sauce:

So that’s really all there is to it.  We roasted some asparagus on the side and whipped up a delicious herb salad with lemon honey-dijon dressing, which all complimented the salmon quite fabulously.  And voila, a champion’s dinner in just 15 minutes.