Festive Baked Salmon!

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A festive main dish for the holiday season that you can make ahead and is super simple, but still has that extra wow factor that will make YOU the star at your holiday dinner.

It is:

▪ Baked with a Honey Garlic Butter Glaze in foil;

▪ Slathered with a Creamy Dill Sauce;

▪ Topped with a Holiday “Tapenade” of dried cranberries, almonds and parsley;

▪ Finished with pomegranate, for a shower of festive color, and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

The flavor and textural combination is stellar! It’s mostly savory with hints of sweet, and that creamy dill sauce is a natural pairing with salmon. Finally, the Holiday Tapenade topping just sings of festivities!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1:  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Simmer 3-ingredient Honey Glaze for 2 minutes;  To make the Honey Glaze, put butter, garlic and honey in a saucepan and simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken slightly and bring all the flavors together.                                                                                                                   
Step 2:  Pour over salmon, then bake for 15 minutes wrapped in foil (see below for best use of foil for an easy clean up!)  

Step 3:  Uncover, then switch oven to broiler/grill. Grill for 10 minutes to get some tasty caramelization on the edges and a bit on the surface.  IMPORTANT: Keep salmon on the middle shelf in the oven when broiling/grilling, don’t move it closer to the heat source – risk of paper burning!

Step 4: Spread cooked salmon with 4-ingredient Lemon Dill Sauce, then 4-ingredient “Tapenade” (topping mix); (see below for respective recipes)

Step 5: Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, drizzle with lemon juice; Serve warm or at room temperature. Now sit back and bask in praise.
 

Foil Baking Tips:

• Line a tray with foil. (Recommended: A double layer of foil for leakage protection.) Then baking/parchment paper. Place the salmon on top.
• Fold the foil sides up a bit to cup them a little so the glaze won’t spill onto the tray.  Carefully pour the hot glaze over the salmon.
• Top with another sheet of parchment paper and foil. Seal edges to form a parcel. No need to make it tightly sealed, just mostly sealed is fine;

Lemon Dill Sauce

This sour cream-based sauce provides an element of creamy richness to the baked salmon as well as acting as the “glue” for the Holiday “Tapenade” we pile over the top.
Mix Sour Cream, shallots, dill and lemon-zest together in a small bowl. 

Holiday Tapenade 

This jumble of goodies is a terrific combination for both flavors and textures with the Honey Glazed salmon and Creamy Dill Sauce. The sweet, slightly tart cranberries and the nutty almonds contrast beautifully with the cooling Creamy Dill Sauce and the rich, Honey Glazed flesh of the salmon.
Combine:  Pomegranate, Dried Cranberries, Orange Juice, Slivered Almonds, Parsley, Olive Oil. 

Assembly: 

Smother the salmon generously with the Creamy Dill Sauce. Generous is the operative word here! It’s the main sauce for this dish, and it’s also the “glue” for the Tapenade;

Sprinkle the Tapenade across the surface. Really pile it on, use it all!;
Then sprinkle over the pomegranate next, and finally the lemon juice.

 Recipe and photo credits: recipetineats
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