Description
This Christmas Baked Salmon recipe features a succulent salmon side glazed with a honey butter sauce, baked to perfection, and finished with a creamy dill sauce and a vibrant holiday tapenade of dried cranberries, toasted almonds, and fresh herbs. Garnished with pomegranate seeds and lemon juice, it's a festive main course perfect for holiday celebrations, served warm or at room temperature for maximum flavor.
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
- 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 wedges each (for serving)
Instructions
- Make Creamy Dill Sauce: In a bowl, combine the full fat sour cream, finely chopped fresh dill, grated eschallot, lemon zest, and salt. Mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prepare Holiday Tapenade: Heat orange juice in a saucepan over high heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat, add dried cranberries, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes to plump. Drain cranberries well and set aside to cool. Then mix drained cranberries with toasted slivered almonds, roughly chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a bowl. Let come to room temperature before serving.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Salmon: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Place a large double sheet of foil on a baking tray, then cover with baking or parchment paper. Place the salmon side (skin down) on the parchment paper, folding up the foil sides to create a slight cup to prevent glaze from spilling onto tray.
- Make Honey Butter Glaze: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter with honey and minced garlic. Once it begins foaming, reduce heat to medium and allow it to foam for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and immediately pour the glaze evenly over the salmon.
- Season Salmon: Sprinkle the salmon evenly with cooking/kosher salt and black pepper, concentrating most of the salt on the thicker parts of the fish.
- Wrap and Bake Salmon: Cover the salmon with a smaller piece of parchment paper, then seal with foil, folding the edges to enclose the salmon in a loose parcel. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and Prepare for Broiling: Remove the salmon from the oven and carefully remove the foil and top parchment. Fold the sides of the paper and foil down to expose the salmon surface while preventing the paper from catching fire during broiling.
- Broil to Brown: Switch the oven to the broil/grill setting on high and place the salmon on the middle rack. Broil for 7 to 10 minutes until caramelization occurs mostly on edges and lightly on top. Check doneness by prying open the fish in the center or using a meat thermometer (ideal range is 49°C/120°F medium-rare to 54°C/130°F medium). Adjust time or rack position accordingly.
- Transfer and Cool Salmon: Use the foil overhang to carefully transfer the salmon to a serving platter, sliding the foil and paper out from underneath to let the honey butter juices pool on the plate. Loosely cover with foil and allow the salmon to cool for at least 15 minutes up to 1 hour to serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
- Assemble and Serve: Spread a thick layer (~0.8 cm) of the creamy dill sauce evenly over the salmon. Spoon the holiday tapenade generously on top, scatter with pomegranate seeds and remaining parsley, then squeeze fresh lemon juice over the entire dish. Serve with extra lemon wedges. Cut into portions with a cake cutter and encourage guests to enjoy the mixture of honey butter glaze with the creamy dill sauce.
Notes
- For the salmon, choose a whole side with skin on for easy handling and bones removed for comfortable eating.
- Cooking/kosher salt is recommended due to its coarser grain; if using table salt, reduce the quantity by 25% to avoid oversalting.
- Toast slivered almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until lightly browned and fragrant, then cool.
- Check doneness of salmon by prying open the flesh or using a probe thermometer; salmon is medium at 54°C/130°F.
- If you do not have a broiler, increase oven temperature to its highest and roast uncovered to achieve caramelization.
- Substitutes: Trout for salmon, ghee or margarine for butter, maple syrup for honey, spreadable cream cheese for sour cream, chives or green onions for dill, nuts and dried fruit alternatives as per allergy or availability.
- Do not spread sour cream on piping hot salmon as it will melt and slide off.
- Skin is not crisp and can be removed easily during serving if preferred.
- This dish is best served warm or at room temperature, not hot.
- You can prepare tapenade, creamy dill sauce, and honey glaze up to 24 hours in advance for convenience.
- Leftovers keep well refrigerated for 3–4 days, best served at room temperature without reheating to avoid sour cream melting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 125 g
- Calories: 370 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 540 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
