This is a recipe that I got from my friend Pattie after eating it at her house, and I wasn’t at all surprised when I found out it was from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook! Ina Garten’s books are ones that I go to often. (I think that I have them all!) I know that I can consistently produce great food from them – even if I have never tried the recipe before. 😉 This Panko-Crusted Salmon is from her How Easy is that? cookbook, but you can also find it online. It is easy enough for a weeknight, but also fancy enough to serve to company as well if you want to use a whole side of salmon.
I make one major change to this recipe. I do not sear the salmon as is called for in the recipe. I have found that baking it at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on how you like your salmon) works really well and is a lot less messy! You may need to keep it in longer for a whole side of salmon, and it may take you a few tries to perfect the timing for your oven, but I would bet that once you do, this will be a recipe you make often.
If you have some extra time, you can serve the salmon with a yogurt sauce, but it is honestly delicious without it. When I make a yogurt sauce, I mix a small container of Fage yogurt (about 3/4 cup) with a crushed garlic clove, a squeeze of lemon juice, a teaspoon or two of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I add dill (fresh or dried) and/or capers.
This week I served the salmon with Horseradish Cheddar Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin from Cupcakes & Kale Chips, which I thought was very good. This was a new website to me and I found it after a search for uses for Horseradish Cheddar. (I had a block in the fridge that I wanted to use up!) I feel like this is a side dish that I’ll make often, and think it would be great with regular cheddar or another cheese, too.
I hope that you’ll try this Panko-Crusted Salmon and Horseradish Cheddar Cheesy Cualiflower Gratin soon!
