Before having kids, Molly would have never batted an eye at the idea of spending all day basting a big Christmas bird, but these days, she values spending time with her family and playing with Bernie and Ira over hours in the kitchen. She says that’s what makes this salmon dish awesome; it’s simple, fast, colorful and delicious as a Christmas main—a lovely alternative to your typical turkey or huge hunk of holiday meat.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pink grapefruit
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon rosemary needles, finely chopped, plus 4 sprigs fresh rosemary sprigs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- One 2 1/4 to 2 1/2-pound piece skin-on salmon (1019 to 1132 grams), at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced, divided
- Grapefruit slices
- Lemon slices
- Orange slices
- Pickled Red Onions, recipe follows
- Rosemary sprigs
- Flaky salt, for serving
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
- In a small bowl, combine the zests of half of the grapefruit, lemon and orange (you should have about 2 tablespoons of loosely-packed zest). Cut the grapefruit, lemon and orange in half. Juice the zested halves of citrus into the bowl with the zests. Add the chopped rosemary, honey and remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil. Whisk to combine and set aside. Slice the non-zested halves of citrus into thin rounds.
- Season the salmon all over with the kosher salt.
- In the middle of the prepared baking sheet, make a bed using half of the sliced citrus, half of the garlic, half of the shallot and the rosemary sprigs. Place the salmon, skin-side down, on the bed of citrus. Arrange the remaining sliced citrus, garlic and shallot on top of the salmon. Drizzle the citrus vinaigrette over the top of the salmon and roast in the oven until just cooked through, 20 to 23 minutes depending on thickness.
- To serve, transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the fresh citrus slices, pickled red onions and rosemary sprigs. Serve with flaky salt on the side.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, add the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, salt, bay leaf and 1/2 cup water. Heat until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Put the onions in a nonreactive, heat-proof food storage container and pour the vinegar mixture over the top. Let cool to room temperature before using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 489 |
| Total Fat | 35 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 74 mg |
| Sodium | 591 mg |
Reviews
This was delicious! We had it for Christmas dinner and my family loved it. I can’t imagine what went wrong for the negative reviewers. I followed the recipe and was delighted with the results.
Delicious!
This was really good! Before I put it in the oven my child saw it and says, “that looks sooo good” and he told everyone they had to come see it. My picky eater loved it too! I didn’t do the pickled onions, and used a thinly sliced yellow onion, forgot to grab a shallot. Oh, didn’t save this for a special occasion, it was just regular weeknight meal. Will definitely make again!
Everyone loved this as part of Christmas dinner. Made with thyme instead of rosemary due to personal preference. Perhaps others had bad fish or bad citrus? Can’t imagine ingredients could become inedible.
I tried this recipe for Christmas Eve dinner. Got high reviews all around the table amongst the most pickiest eaters and the ones with very refined palate. Excellent meal.
Over the top good – would highly recommend this dish and not sure why the other person didn’t enjoy it. We used fresh citrus here in Florida and did use key lime infused olive oil from Gil’s Gourmet – it really added. Very light and refreshing!!!!
I was so wanting this to taste yummy! Meh or Yuck! Lots of money for just a meh poached salmon.
Some of the worst salmon I have eaten. Cat food looks better. I am going to cancel recording Molly Yen!!!!!
So Disappointed!!!!
Some of the worst salmon I have eaten. Cat food looks better. I am going to cancel recording Molly Yen!!!!!
So Disappointed!!!!
This is delicious/ did not make the pickled onions although I think they would be great too! Salmon was moist and flavorful. I did 12 oz of salmon and just cut ingredients by 2/3.