Sicilian Baked Salmon

This Sicilian Baked Salmon is a delicious seafood recipe that's easy enough for a simple weeknight dinner but special enough for entertaining! Tender, meaty fillets of salmon are coated with a flavorful breadcrumb crust and baked until golden brown on the outside and succulent and juicy on the inside.

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I come from a big Sicilian family and on Christmas Eve we celebrate the Feast of Seven Fishes. Sometimes it's more like 12 fishes. Other times it's just one. It all depends on the crowd!

Yet regardless of who's coming for dinner, I'm always looking for new and creative ways to incorporate seafood into my holiday meal.

Salmon has never been traditional for us, as the fishermen in the family usually supply us with their local catch. But it's a crowd pleaser and this recipe also feeds a crowd!

I took a big, whole salmon filet and slathered it with Dijon mustard, then a thick coating of breadcrumbs mixed with garlic, herbs, pine nuts, capers and raisins, for a Sicilian flair.

If you can't get your hands on a nice piece of fresh salmon (especially if wild salmon is out of season), consider buying frozen salmon from a reputable, sustainable source instead.

Despite how it sounds, "fresh seafood" is actually often not as fresh as you think it is. Who knows how long it's been sitting around in that case? 

Frozen seafood gets a bad rap, but I can confidently tell you that I'd take a high-quality piece of frozen seafood over a mediocre piece of "fresh" seafood ANY day.

This recipe is inspired by the "baked stuffed {insert seafood here}" that's always served at my Sicilian family's Christmas Eve dinner. Whether it's flounder, clams, shrimp, scallops, etc., you'll always find it baked with garlicky, lemony breadcrumbs.

I've gone ahead and upped the flavor even more by adding some other traditional Sicilian ingredients like pine nuts, olives, capers and golden raisins. The raisins might sound a little odd, but that little pop of sweetness really rounds out the other flavors and makes the fish come alive.

I don't want to bore you with even MORE reasons for why you should make this recipe, but I'll just quickly throw in the fact that it's also EASY and pretty healthy, too (omega-3's cancel out cookies, right?!).

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Sicilian Baked Salmon

Sicilian Baked Salmon is an easy and elegant recipe that's perfect for entertaining! Tender, meaty fillets of salmon are coated with a flavorful breadcrumb crust and baked until golden brown on the outside and succulent and juicy on the inside.

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 515kcal

Author: Nicole Gaffney

Ingredients

• ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 cloves garlic grated or finely minced
• 2 tablespoons capers drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons good quality green olives such as Castelvetrano or Cerignola, pitted and chopped
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts lightly toasted
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 lemon half zested and juiced, the other half thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 1 whole salmon fillet (about 1 ½ lobs) or 4 6-oz salmon fillets defrosted *(see note)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the Panko breadcrumbs, garlic, capers, olives, pine nuts, raisins, parsley and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle olive oil all over and mix until well combined. 
3. Place the salmon skin-side-down on the parchment lined sheet pan. Drizzle with lemon juice, season generously with salt and pepper, then spread Dijon mustard all over. 
4. Spoon the breadcrumb mixture over the salmon and gently pack it in to cover the fillet entirely. Scatter the lemon slices around the fillet.
5. Bake the salmon until just cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. If the crust hasn't browned, place it under the broiler for a few minutes until golden, but keep a close eye on it and be careful that the parchment doesn't catch fire. 
6. Transfer the salmon to a serving platter along with the roasted lemon slices, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve.

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Notes

*This recipe can also be prepared with individual salmon fillets. Adjust cook time as needed.

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Nutrition

Calories: 515kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 1244mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 118IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 3mg