Salmon Starters and Mains
With a rich flavor and firm but tender texture, salmon takes well to a variety of preparations; we love it cured, baked, seared, poached, and everything in-between. Here, our favorite recipes that feature the versatile fish in dishes from delicate hors d'oeuvres to hearty mains. Read more about different varieties of salmon »
Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Seaweed Salad
Drying and salting your salmon fillets helps ensure that the skin gets extra crispy.
Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese, Capers, and Red Onion
Cream cheese, capers, and red onions make for a lovely spread to pair with smoked salmon.
Salmon in Bengali Mustard Sauce
This Bengali dish is adapted from At Home With Madhur Jaffrey (Knopf, 2010). Serve with cooked white rice.
Koji-Cured Grilled Salmon
There are two types used for cooking: Ama-koji and Shio-koji. Ama-koji, called for here, has no salt, so you can control the seasoning yourself. In this simple recipe, it’s added to salmon fillets before they hit the grill, which lightly cures them and adds an umami kick. Get the recipe for Koji-Cured Grilled Salmon »
Fiddlehead Fern and Cured Salmon Salad
Fiddlehead ferns—the furled fronds of ferns, which grow wild in Hawaii’s lush Waipi’o Valley on the Big Island—often appear in salads at luaus, tossed with everything from fish cakes to dried shrimp. Here, in a version from Tishia Spencer, an attendee of the Mock Chew family annual luau, simple cured salmon beefs up this refreshing side dish. Get the recipe »
Smoked Salmon with Fromage Blanc, Chives, and Pickled Celery
Pickled celery balances the subtleness of fromage blanc in a simple and elegant canapé.
Toast with Roasted Beet Dip, Smoked Salmon, and Watercress
Roasting beets and puréeing them with a little balsamic vinegar makes a sweet, earthy spread that’s a perfect base for slices of smoked salmon and peppery watercress.
Salmon Tartare
A simple mix of soy sauce, mirin, and cilantro flavors meltingly tender salmon for an elegant appetizer that requires very little prep time.
Salmon and Scallops à la Nage
The aroma of a California bay leaf lends subtle sharpness to this essential French dish.
Exceptional Salmon
Easy and delicious, this quick-to-make recipe is typical of Nigella Lawson’s no-nonsense, breezy approach to food.
Eggs Baked with Smoked Salmon (Oeufs en Cocotte au Saumon Fumé)
Eggs mixed with cream are poached over a bed of smoked salmon in this simple yet elegant breakfast dish from chef Wolfgang Puck.
Grilled Salmon with Blackberry Sauce
A rich, sweet-tart blackberry sauce adorns crispy skin-on salmon filets in this easy dish from Leah Koenig, who developed it for our One Ingredient, Many Ways series.
Stuffed Pepperoncini with Smoked Salmon
Spicy, briny, creamy, and salty, this simple, retro-inspired appetizer is an unabashed crowd-pleaser. Get the recipe for Stuffed Pepperoncini with Smoked Salmon »
Classic cured salmon is served with a bright mustard-honey sauce in this recipe adapted from Jake Tilson’s In At The Deep End. Flavored with pepper, cloves, and dill, the fish requires at least 5 days to cure, so be sure to plan ahead. Use the best-quality salmon you can find.
Salmon Glazed with Rosemary- and Lemon-Infused Honey
Rosemary-infused honey gives this dish a sweet and aromatic flavor. Get the recipe for Salmon Glazed with Rosemary- and Lemon-Infused Honey »
Salmon with Green Olive and Ramp Beurre Blanc
Classic beurre blanc enhanced with ramps and chopped Cerignola olives makes a creamy, velvety sauce for grilled salmon. Get the recipe for Salmon with Green Olive and Ramp Beurre Blanc »
Swedish Cured Salmon (Gravadlax)
A salt and sugar cure flavored with fresh dill transforms salmon into gravadlax, silky ribbons of fish ready to be piled atop slices of rustic brown bread or crunchy rye crispbread for a Swedish Midsummer feast.
Gravlax with Blinis
We persuaded the wife of a Norwegian fisherman to share her secret recipe for marinating a fresh side of salmon to silky-textured, subtly flavored perfection. Modern-day gravlax, preferably served with blinis (a Russian touch). Get the recipe for Gravlax with Blinis »
