what did i do wrong (pasta sauce)?

[vickiyumyum]

i attempted a new recipe today something that i had had in a restaurant and thought i could make at home!

it was taglieatellie(?sp) with salmon and a white wine, dill and cream sauce.
i poached the salmon in very weak veg stock. then made the sauce by reducing a large glass of white wine, with fresh dill, squeeze of lemon and then double cream. i added plenty of balck pepper to taste. flaked the salmon into that sauce brought it to a simmer and then simmered it for about 5-10 minutes. mixed it with the cooked fresh tag and served.
dh put more black pepper on. kids ate it with bread.
the kids ate it without comment. but i could see dh wasn't too keen. i tucked in and the first mouthful tasted ok, the second ok too and then it hit me i couldn't eat anymore it was too bland, disgusting, couldn't even chew it with out heaving. when i stood up to throw it in the bin, dh admitted he too was struggling, but hadn't wanted to offend me as i had made such an effort.
where did i go wrong why was it so bland,, i've racked my brains and raided my cookbooks, but can't see anything that i have missed, bar ringing the restaurant and asking them what they put in it.
any suggestions?

I think you might have been better off not simmering it after you'd added the cream. Cream (and the salmon, for that matter) just needs heating through, not boiling or simmering, and you probably curdled it a bit.

salt?

Did you use fresh peppercorns or ground pepper? Ground is too bland for cooking.

If the dill was fresh did you put much in? You usually need loads when using fresh herbs.

As much as I try to cook without salt, I do find a quick pinch towards the end of cooking does help lift the other flavours.

uum some interesting points, i didn't add salt as the stock that i poached the salmon in was quite salty.
and i did use ground black pepper (i ground it at the point of adding to the sauce iyswim)

added tonnes of dill, almost a whole dill plant, but no stalks could that have effected it?

Perhaps a splash of white wine vinegar? Sour cream?

You used fresh pepper then, when I said ground I meant the horrible pre-ground sneezing powder stuff you can buy.

I think maybe a few shallots might have helped.

no onion / seasoning in sauce?

would add the cream at the end and not simmer

when I poach salmon I do it just in water with about 6 peppercorns (whole) a bay leaf and a quarter of lemon (or splash of lemon juice

some good suggestions will try it again one night as it was v yummy in the resatuarant and am bored of making the same old same old, day in day out!

Did they use salmon or smoked salmon in the restaurant? Ordinary salmon would definitely need salt adding and cream only at the end with both.

Maybe the sauce had a roux base which would have made it thicker so that it would coat the pasta better.

How about a simpler one? Stir smoked salmon,cream,lemon,dill and capers into freshly cooked pasta.

Lol at the whole dill plant!

Maybe it's the salmon. Some farmed salmon is very flabby and has a pretty foul texture and taste even if you just poach it, especially if it's been frozen beforehand.

Wild salmon is twice the price though.

I've had better results with farmed salmon by grilling it, to get some of the excess moisture out of it - maybe you could grill it then add it to the sauce?