There truly are a million ways to enjoy salmon. We eat it weekly, and we do repeat our favorite ways to prepare it. (Pistachio-Crusted Salmon is a huge favorite!) But we also try out new recipes with different ingredients, flavors, and textures to broaden our scope of delicious ways to make our favorite fish for dinner.
This recent discovery is perfect for getting dinner on the table quickly! Anchovies and garlic are combined with softened butter, bringing a complex salinity to seared salmon, that enriches and deepens the flavor of the fish. The butter mixture is used as both a cooking medium and as a serving sauce. The butter browns as it cooks and the anchovies and garlic caramelize, bringing a touch of sweetness to the fish. When the butter mixture is stirred into the pan sauce, the raw garlic and anchovies provide a sharp bite that is tendered by the creaminess of the butter. The dish is finished off with capers and fresh parsley, adding briny and tangy flavor and a bright herbal flavor to balance this savory dish.
Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter
Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter (adapted from cooking.nytimes.com) Total Time Required: 25 minutes, Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 4 anchovy fillets, minced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (6 – 8 ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
- 2 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry
- 1/2 lemon
- fresh chopped parsley, for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, anchovies, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Combine the butter, anchovies, garlic, salt, and pepper.
In a large ovenproof skillet, melt about half of the anchovy butter. Add the fish, skin side down and cook for 3 minutes over high heat to brown the skin, spooning some pan drippings over the top of the fish as it cooks.
Add the fish to the pan with the melted butter.
Add the capers to the bottom of the pan and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast until the fish is cooked to an internal temperature of 135ºF, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the capers to the skillet then transfer it to the preheated oven.
Remove the pan from the oven and add the remaining anchovy butter to pan to melt. Place the salmon on plates and spoon the buttery pan sauce over the top of the fish. Squeeze the lemon half over the salmon filets and garnish each with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Serve the salmon with the rest of the butter, lemon juice, and some parsley.
Two species of fish are a perfect complement in this dish! ~Linda
Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter (adapted from cooking.nytimes.com) Total Time Required: 25 minutes, Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 4 anchovy fillets, minced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (6 – 8 ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
- 2 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry
- 1/2 lemon
- fresh chopped parsley, for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, anchovies, garlic, salt, and pepper.
In a large ovenproof skillet, melt about half of the anchovy butter. Add the fish, skin side down and cook for 3 minutes over high heat to brown the skin, spooning some pan drippings over the top of the fish as it cooks. Add the capers to the bottom of the pan and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast until the fish is cooked to an internal temperature of 135ºF, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and add the remaining anchovy butter to pan to melt. Place the salmon on plates and spoon the buttery pan sauce over the top of the fish. Squeeze the lemon half over the salmon filets and garnish each with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.