TL/DR – Magic Baked Salmon. An easy weeknight meal with kickin’ umami flavors. It’s magic.
If you are like me, you nerd out on The Splendid Table Podcast. Since Covid 19 came into our lives, it has been my pleasure to tune into the many episodes that I’ve missed while working full time and living life. Recently I caught Episode 709: Catching up with Lynne Rossetto Kasper and she inspired me with the idea for the paste in this Magic Baked Salmon recipe.
Maybe it’s odd to think of anchovies and salmon on the same plate, but Lynne’s suggestion for using up extra parsley with anchovies in a paste screamed “salmon!” at me and I had to follow my heart. My heart was right. This. Is. So. Good.
In a small food processor, blend together a tin of anchovies with their oil, lots of parsley leaves, (the recipe calls for 1/2 c to 1 c, at your discretion,) garlic and pepper. I also added lemon zest and juice with fantastic results. It turns into a paste that is thick enough to spread with a knife, but not stiff.
Spread it over a couple of salmon fillets, then bake in a foil packet at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, more or less. And that is it.
Try it with a Pineapple Sour and Lemony Garlicky Broccoli. For the same amazing flavor combination without the salmon, try Pasta with Parsley and Anchovies.
Magic Baked Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 2 oz. tin of anchovies in oil
- 1 smallish clove garlic
- 1/2 to 1 c fresh parsley leaves, packed
- zest of one lemon
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/8 t pepper
- 2 4 to 6 oz. salmon fillets
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 In a small food processor, combine the anchovies with all of their oil, garlic, parsley, zest, juice and pepper, and blend until a paste forms. If it is too thick to spread, add 1 T additional olive oil.
- Step 3 Tear off two pieces of aluminum foil large enough to fold around a salmon fillet to form a sealed packet.
- Step 4 Place each fillet in the center of each piece of foil.
- Step 5 Spread 2T – 3T of the anchovy parsley paste over the top of each fillet. Save any additional paste to dip veggies or bread in later.
- Step 6 Fold the pieces of foil into two packets and place on a baking sheet.
- Step 7 Bake for about 20 minutes, or to your desired doneness.
