Description
A festive Christmas Baked Salmon recipe featuring a honey butter glaze, creamy dill sauce, and a vibrant holiday tapenade with dried cranberries and almonds. Perfectly cooked salmon is baked and then broiled for caramelized edges, served with fresh pomegranate seeds and lemon wedges for a delicious and elegant holiday main course.
Ingredients
Scale
Salmon
- 1.5 kg salmon side (skin on, bones removed)
- 2 1/4 tsp 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
- 1/2 eschallot, finely grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp 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
- Make Creamy Dill Sauce: Mix sour cream, fresh dill, eschallot, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
- Prepare Holiday Tapenade: Heat orange juice in a saucepan until hot, then turn off heat and add dried cranberries. Cover and let stand 15 minutes to plump. Drain well and cool. In a bowl, combine plumped cranberries, toasted slivered almonds, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Set aside at room temperature.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Salmon: Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. On a large baking tray lined with double-layered foil and topped with parchment paper, place the salmon side skin down. Fold up foil edges slightly to contain glaze.
- Make Honey Butter Glaze: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter with honey and minced garlic. When it begins foaming, reduce to medium and let foam for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour glaze evenly over the salmon.
- Season Salmon: Sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper over the salmon, focusing most of the salt on the thicker part.
- Wrap and Bake: Cover salmon with a smaller piece of parchment paper, then foil. Fold and seal sides to form a loose parcel. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Unwrap and Broil: Remove the salmon from the oven. Uncover and fold down the foil and parchment sides to expose the salmon surface, tucking down paper edges to prevent burning. Switch oven to broil on high and place salmon on the middle rack. Broil for 7 to 10 minutes until edges caramelize and top starts to brown. Check doneness by prying open the center or using a food thermometer aiming for at least 49°C/120°F for medium-rare.
- Transfer and Cool: Use the foil overhang to transfer salmon onto a serving platter. Slide out foil and paper from beneath the salmon to allow juices to pool. Loosely cover with foil and let cool for at least 15 minutes up to 1 hour before serving.
- Assemble and Serve: Spread a thick layer (~0.8 cm) of Creamy Dill Sauce over the salmon surface. Pile the Holiday Tapenade on top, then scatter pomegranate seeds and parsley. Drizzle lemon juice over all. Serve with extra lemon wedges. Cut into portions for serving and encourage guests to enjoy the honey-butter sauce mixed with the creamy dill topping. Best served slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Use a whole side of salmon, skin on and bones removed, for best handling and presentation.
- Use kosher/cooking salt as it is less salty by volume than table salt; reduce amounts by 25% if substituting with table salt.
- Toast slivered almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until fragrant and lightly browned.
- To check doneness, pry open the thickest part of salmon or use a thermometer; medium-rare is 49°C / 120°F.
- Alternatives: Trout can substitute salmon (adjust quantities). Salmon fillets can be baked for 10 minutes then broiled 10 minutes. Use ghee or margarine as dairy-free butter substitutes.
- The dish is excellent served warm or at room temperature but avoid piping hot as topping can melt.
- Make components like tapenade and sauces up to 24 hours ahead; keep almonds separate until serving.
- Leftovers keep well refrigerated for 3–4 days; bring to room temperature before serving and avoid reheating in microwave or oven to prevent sour cream from melting.
- Use lemon wedges generously as fresh lemon juice complements the rich flavors beautifully.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approximate)
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
