This is an absolute winner of a dish. Easy and fun to make. And I received a 10 out of 10 from the friends who joined us at dinner.
A great friend recently returned from a holiday in Cancun, Mexico and was only impressed with one dish on the hotel menu. She described it as Roasted Salmon with Pistachio Crust and Limoncello Foam. Inspiration to get the creative juices going and come up with our own version.
The version we created was heavily influenced by our recent trip to Sicily where Pistachio Nuts feature in dishes from Pasta to Fish and of course Gelato. So it made sense to introduce as a support to this dish.
What makes this dish even better is that despite the sophisticated presentation of the Roasted Salmon, it’s a one-pan meal that takes less than 25 minutes to make! That’s what I love about salmon. No matter how exquisite the dish, it is so quick and easy to make. It truly makes the perfect weeknight dinner.
Roasted Salmon with Pistachio Crust
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Loading...What makes this dish even better is that despite the sophisticated presentation, it's a one-pan meal that takes less than 25 minutes to make! That’s what I love about salmon. No matter how exquisite the dish, it is so quick and easy to make. It truly makes the perfect weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- For the Fish
- 2 85g Packets pistachios (Roughly Ground)
- 1/2 Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley chopped
- 1 Orange Zested and juiced
- 1 Side of Salmon to cut into four fillets
- Olive oil spray or Orange Steeped Olive Oil if you can get it
- For the Limoncello Foam
- 1 Good glug of Limoncello
- 1 Egg White
- For the Wilted Spinach
- 300 g Baby Spinach Leaves
- 1 Good Pinch of Nutmeg
- Knob of Butter
- Olive Oil
Instructions
Place pistachios in a pestle and mortar and going until they form a roughly chopped and powdery consistency.
Add the orange zest and the juice from the orange to the pistachio mix and grind a little more till it thickens. Be careful not to over-grind.
With a sharp knife cut the salmon into four equal size fillets and place onto squares of greaseproof paper. If you are serving to friends that like the fish skin, rub a little butter onto the greaseproof paper. This will give the fish skin a nice golden color. If they don't like the skin then leave as is. When you pull away from the paper the skin will come off the flesh with the paper.
Press top side of each salmon fillet into the pistachio mixture to coat evenly. Sprinkle any leftover mixture on fillets.
Spray with olive oil. At this point, I added some orange flavored olive oil we found in Sicily to the frying pan to give extra orange flavor. Heat the pan on high heat and when smoking adds the salmon fillets.
When seared pop the pan into the oven and bake salmon for 3 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and cook a further 3 minutes. Uncover and stand for 5 mins before serving.
In the meantime, wash the spinach and drain excess moisture. Heat olive oil and a knob of butter in a pan and when hot add the spinach and wilt. Grate nutmeg over the leaves and mix well. When just wilted place to one side.
Finally, make the foam. Place the white of an egg into a bowl and whisk vigorously till the whites become snowy peaks. Add the Limoncello and whisk some more. Don't be alarmed if you lose consistency at this point as the recipe needs a foam, not a meringue.
You are now ready to plate up. Place the Spinach onto a warm plate, pop the salmon on top and drizzle with the foam. Serve.
Notes
We added a few boiled new potatoes to the dish to add a bit more texture and flavor.
WINE MATCH
We are huge fans of South African Chenin Blanc. Kruger Family Old Vines Chenin Blanc 2018 is superb and complimented the richness of the roasted salmon really well. The taste is fresh, delicate, yet powerful and rich all at the same time. This was love at first sip. I’ve already ordered more. Available from Naked Wines.
2 Comments
Lois
5th July 2020 at 3:49 am4.5 stars
This roasted salmon with pistachio crust was excellent. I served it for a dinner party and everyone loved it . Just a couple of comments your instructions do not state the temperature for the oven ( I guessed and set it at 375degrees F ) and although you listed chopped parsley there were no instructions for it.
Marc Spendlove-Kruger
5th July 2020 at 12:05 pmHi Lois,
So glad the recipe worked out well and was enjoyed by your party guests. You guessed well with the oven temperature and were spot on. Well done! 375f / 190c / gas mark 5, works well for the dish. As regards the parsley I usually mix in with my pistachio topping as it not only adds colour and texture but also a nice gentle peppery flavour. (after living in Italy for so long flat leaf parsley is an essential for me and I tend to add it to everything!)
Thanks for reaching out to us and happy cooking
Marc and Rick