Sicilian Baked Salmon is an easy and elegant recipe that’s perfect for entertaining! Tender, meaty fillets of wild Alaskan salmon are coated with a flavorful breadcrumb crust and baked until golden brown on the outside and succulent and juicy on the inside. This post is sponsored by Wild For Salmon. All Opinions are 100% my own.
The holidays are here and I have entertaining on the brain.
There’s always a good excuse to get together this time of year, and for me, food is always the main focus. If I’m being totally honest, I don’t get a ton of enjoyment out of giving or receiving gifts. Instead, I’d rather focus my time and effort on creating a special meal to enjoy with the people I love. Gifts are often forgotten, but those memories will last a lifetime.
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 this year I’m changing things up and putting wild caught Alaskan Sockeye salmon from Wild For Salmon on the table. Why? Well, for a lot of reasons!
For one, it’s as fresh as fresh can get. 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? Wild For Salmon’s frozen wild Sockeye fillets, however, were blast frozen the moment the fish was harvested and then vacuum sealed to lock in the freshness. 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.
The next reason is that it’s convenient. The salmon can stay frozen right up until I’m ready to use it, so I don’t have to worry about running out to buy seafood on the day of my party. Submerge the vacuum sealed package in cold water and it will be defrosted in 20 minutes, tops. If half of your party cancels because they came down with the flu, you won’t have a bunch of expensive seafood go to waste. Instead, it will be kept fresh in your freezer until you’re ready to eat it another day.
The third reason I’m going to serve wild Alaskan salmon for Christmas Eve this year is that it’s impressive and crowd pleasing! Everyone loves salmon. Unlike other types of seafood (I’m looking at you clams and calamari), salmon is always a hit. And these giant whole wild Sockeye fillets from Wild For Salmon? They’re massive, show-stopping and absolutely perfect for feeding a crowd!
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?!).
Wild For Salmon is offering my readers an awesome Smoked Salmon Sampler Pack with any purchase over $149 (free shipping too!). It includes their Traditional Smoked Salmon, Garlic Pepper Smoked Salmon, Nova, and Salmon Candy – a $31 value! Just use the promo code “ColeyGift” at checkout.
It’s an incredible deal, and if you know any seafood lovers that are otherwise hard to shop for, I’m sure they would love to open their door to find some high-quality wild Alaskan salmon waiting for them this holiday season.
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Sicilian Baked Salmon is an easy and elegant recipe that’s perfect for entertaining! Tender, meaty fillets of wild Alaskan salmon are coated with a flavorful breadcrumb crust and baked until golden brown on the outside and succulent and juicy on the inside.
Ingredients
- 3/4 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
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 1.5 lb Wild For Salmon whole Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Fillet, defrosted *(see note)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Place the Wild For Salmon whole Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Fillet 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.
- Spoon the breadcrumb mixture over the salmon and gently pack it in to cover the fillet entirely. Scatter the lemon slices around the fillet.
- 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.
- Transfer the salmon to a serving platter along with the roasted lemon slices, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve.
Notes
*This recipe can also be prepared with individual wild salmon fillets. Adjust cook time as needed.
Keywords: italian, fish, seafood
Nicole Gaffney, aka Coley, is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, tv host and food writer.
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