Cacao Nib Encrusted Salmon with White Chocolate Sauce, #giveaway from Dorothy St. James

We're so pleased to have our friend and popular author Dorothy St. James back again as today's guest. And, she's brought chocolate!

On the Sea Islands in the South there’s a legend of the Gray Lady, a ghostly figure who walks the shores of the beach before a hurricane hits warning those who encounter her of doom. Joe Davies, a local treasure hunter with an unquenchable sweet tooth, claims to have seen her walking toward him and is terrified for his life.

After the storm passes everyone returns to survey the damage. As Penn walks her little dog Stella on the beach, she finds Joe Davies' body washed up onshore. Did the Gray Lady claim another victim? Many on the island believe that is exactly what happened. Penn says murder. Penn and Stella follow hints of lost gold to discover the truth in a mystery as twisty as the boating channels winding their way through the local marshes.

She also takes time to cook up fun new chocolate recipes for her chocolate shop, in her latest adventure, Bonbon with the Wind.

One of the fun challenges I made for myself when writing the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series is to always include one savory chocolate recipe at the back of the books. Here in the United States, we often forget that chocolate is much more than a dessert. The rich cacao bean can be used in many recipes.

Let me tell you, this recipe turned out amazing. Even my picky 6 year-old enjoyed it. After eating it, I felt like we’d just had dinner at a fancy restaurant. Bliss! That reminds me, I need to buy some more ingredients so I make this one again this week.

It helps to gather up all the ingredients before starting. (I also learned the hard way that I cook better if I put on my reading glasses.)

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Start with the sauce. Whisk together the butter and the flour. I’m using a general purpose gluten free flour, because I have gluten intolerant family members.

After the sauce has cooked, take off the heat and stir in the white chocolate (make sure it’s made with cocoa butter) and lemon juice. If it’s too thick, thin the sauce with the vegetable stock.

I purchase my cocoa butter from my local chocolatier. You can also purchase it online if you’re having trouble finding some at the local supermarket. Cocoa butter melts nicely in the microwave. I microwave at 50% power for about 2 minutes and then stir until smooth and completely melted.

I wish I had smell-o-vision. Frying the salmon in the cocoa butter releases a delightful tropical aroma. The cocoa nibs are provide a bitter contrast to the sweetness of the cocoa butter and the white chocolate sauce.

Serve with rice and broccoli for a fun twist on a weeknight fish dinner.

Ingredients

For the Sauce

3 T Butter

3 t All-Purpose Flour

1 Cup Vegetable Broth

6 t Fresh Lemon Juice (unsweetened)

1 oz White Chocolate (not too sweet)

For the Salmon

6 T Cocoa Butter (cooking grade)

5 T Cacao Nibs (ground in pepper grinder or in food processor)

2 lbs Filet of Salmon cut into 4-5oz portions

Salt

  

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour. Mix until smooth. Add fish broth, stirring constantly to cook the flour. Let the sauce cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add lemon juice, white chocolate, and salt to taste.

Spread 3 tablespoons of melted cocoa butter on salmon skin. Press ground cacao nibs into salmon. Sprinkle with salt. Flip over and repeat. Heat remaining cocoa butter in a pan over medium heat. Fry fish for about 5 minutes per side until it has browned.

  

Serve with rice, sauce, and cooked leeks, asparagus, or broccoli.

Have you ever tried savory chocolate dishes? Do you have any favorites? I’d love to hear about them.

** Giveaway: I’ll be giving away a signed paperback copy of Bonbon with the Wind (US only) to one commenter. **  Be sure to leave a comment along with your email contact before Monday 6 PM ET.

Also, be sure to look for more delicious recipes and a deadly mystery on everyone’s favorite sea island, Camellia Beach in Bonbon With the Wind, the latest Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery.

Dorothy St. James is the author of the White House Gardener mysteries. For the past twenty years she made her home on Folly Beach, an artsy island community in South Carolina with her sculptor husband. Dorothy is a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and the International Thriller Writers (ITW). This is her fourth Southern Chocolate Shop mystery.

Follow Dorothy Online:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothy.stjames

Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothywrites

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dorothymcfalls

Website: www.dorothystjames.com

Bonbon with the Wind Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39Q2w4U

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bonbon-with-the-wind-dorothy-st-james/1135678760

Google Store: http://bit.ly/35vFEo9

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781087855806