Description
This festive Christmas Baked Salmon is a show-stopping main course featuring a perfectly glazed salmon side with a honey butter glaze, creamy dill sauce, and a vibrant holiday tapenade topped with pomegranate seeds. The dish is baked and then broiled to caramelized perfection, making it perfect for holiday gatherings and celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Salmon:
- 1.5 kg salmon side (skin on, bones removed)
- 2 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Honey Butter Glaze:
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
Creamy Dill Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups full fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped (lightly packed)
- 1/2 eschallot, finely grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Holiday Tapenade:
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/3 cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Finishing:
- 1 pomegranate, seeds only
- 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 lemons, cut into 6 pieces each (for serving)
Instructions
- Prepare Creamy Dill Sauce: In a bowl, mix sour cream, fresh dill, grated eschallot, lemon zest, and salt until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
- Make Holiday Tapenade: Heat orange juice in a saucepan over high heat until hot, then turn off the stove. Add dried cranberries, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain cranberries and cool. In a bowl, mix drained cranberries with toasted almonds, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Use at room temperature.
- Preheat Oven: Set oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Prepare Salmon for Baking: Place a large sheet of foil on a tray, top with baking/parchment paper, and place the salmon on the paper. Fold up foil sides slightly to keep glaze from running onto the tray.
- Make Honey Butter Glaze: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter with honey and minced garlic. Once foaming starts, reduce to medium heat and let foam for 2 minutes. Remove and pour immediately over the salmon.
- Season Salmon: Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper, focusing most salt on the thicker parts.
- Wrap Salmon: Cover salmon with a smaller piece of parchment paper and then foil. Fold and seal sides to form a loose parcel, not airtight.
- Bake Salmon: Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove.
- Uncover Salmon: Carefully remove foil and parchment paper cover by folding them down and tucking the edges away to avoid fire during broiling.
- Broil to Brown: Switch oven to grill/broiler on high. Place salmon on middle shelf and broil for 7 to 10 minutes until caramelized mostly on edges and slightly on top. Check doneness by prying open or using a meat thermometer (medium doneness at 54°C/130°F).
- Transfer Salmon: Use the foil overhang to slide the salmon onto a serving platter, allowing juices to pool around it.
- Cool Salmon: Loosely cover the salmon with foil and let it cool for at least 15 minutes up to 1 hour to serve warm or at room temperature.
- Assemble and Serve: Spread Creamy Dill Sauce thickly over the salmon (~0.8cm/1/3 inch). Pile Holiday Tapenade on top, scatter pomegranate seeds and remaining parsley, then drizzle with lemon juice. Serve with extra lemon wedges. Cut into pieces with a cake cutter and enjoy the honey butter sauce mixed with the dill sauce.
Notes
- Use a whole side of salmon with skin on and bones removed for best results and handling.
- Use cooking/kosher salt for salt measurements; reduce quantity by 25% if using fine table salt.
- Toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to avoid burning.
- Check salmon doneness by gently prying open flesh or using a thermometer: 43°C for rare, 49°C for medium-rare, 54°C for medium.
- Substitute trout or salmon fillets if side is unavailable; adjust cooking times accordingly.
- Use ghee or clarified butter for dairy-free alternatives; substitute honey with maple syrup (simmer longer).
- Sour cream can be substituted with spreadable cream cheese thinned with olive oil; yogurt is too watery.
- Dill may be substituted with chives or finely chopped green onions.
- For nut allergies, substitute almonds with pepitas or sunflower seeds.
- Multiple dried fruit alternatives can be used in tapenade with plumping adjustments, such as sour cherries or golden raisins.
- Serve salmon warm or at room temperature; do not spread creamy sauce on piping hot salmon to prevent melting off.
- Leftovers keep 3-4 days refrigerated, best served at room temperature without reheating.
- Make components ahead up to 24 hours in advance; assemble and serve fresh.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 125 g
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
