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Butter-Basted Salmon with Hazelnut Relish

Bon Appétit | June 2014
by Renee Erickson

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup blanched hazelnuts
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 cup (packed) fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems
  • 1/2 cup (packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves with tender stems
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 4 6-ounce pieces skin-on salmon fillets
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 heads Little Gem or other small lettuce, leaves separated

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Let cool.

Pulse garlic, cilantro, parsley, capers, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup hazelnuts in a food processor until finely chopped. With machine running, gradually add olive oil; season relish with salt. Coarsely chop remaining hazelnuts.

Heat vegetable oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season salmon with salt and cook, skin side down, until skin is crisp (do not disturb), about 4 minutes. Add butter and cook, basting constantly, 1 minute. Transfer to oven and roast salmon, basting once, until medium-rare (mostly opaque but still slightly translucent in the center), about 3 minutes.

Serve salmon, skin side up, with lettuce, topped with relish and chopped hazelnuts.

Do ahead: Relish can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

SELECT LATEST REVIEWS

A couple of things...the relish needs more acid, so increase the lemon zest and add a little lemon juice. Also add a couple extra garlic cloves. The secret to this dish is to get the salmon skin crisp...adds a nice crunch...to make this easier to achieve, after you scale the salmon, and pat it dry, salt the skin and wait a few minutes while the salt draws more water out of the skin. Then rinse the salt off and dry again...Then in the pan literally do not move the salmon while the skin is crisping... A great dish and easy to prepare.

nchasan from Seattle, WA / 09.15.15

My family loves salmon and I have quite a repertoire of different recipes we all love. Look forward to trying this one but I'm curious about the skin. Are you suggesting we eat the skin? I've always found it to be too "fishy".

pmfurr from Memphis,TN / 09.14.15

Everything about this was delicious!! Not wanting to heat up the house, I did it all in a large skillet set on the gas grill. When it was time to "put it in the oven" I just turned off the grill. The skin didn't really crisp up, but the salmon was incredibly moist and flavorful, and we loved the hazelnut pesto. Wow - boring salmon no more!!

LornaG1 from Colorado / 06.16.15

I have never in my life eaten more than one bite of salmon but this recipe is SO good that I ate an entire piece! I made it as directed, but substituted pecans for the hazelnuts. It was fantastic. Make sure to toast the nuts...wow! (Next time, I will use maybe half the oil in the relish and half on the fish as well.)

MarcyW1a / 12.13.14

Vacationing in Maine with friends including Linda K. who made this for all of us. I don't know why we would even think of going out to dinner with food as superbly chosen and executed as this! Fabulous.

vansurdam from CT / 08.08.14

Excellent- added one extra clove of garlic to the hazelnut relish. Couldn't get it "blackened" - should I have broiled it?

jerijones from Seattle, WA / 07.13.14

loved this, added the relish a minute or two before taking out of the oven rather than adding it cold, which worked nicely

creeksidecook from Vancouver, CN / 06.27.14

Easy to make and delicious. I didn't successfully manage to make the skin crispy, but that didn't really matter. The finished meal looked beautiful - the green of the relish with the salmon made for a very appealing looking dish!

A Cook from San Diego, CA / 06.03.14
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