After a lovely anniversary staycation this weekend, where I enjoyed many delicious meals cooked by someone else, my Mangia Monday motivation isn’t particularly high. Fortunately, I have another easy recipe on hand that barely feels like cooking.
This recipe came about because my friend ZoeLynne, who is a wonderful cook who creates delicious meals without recipes, posted about a Za’atar Salmon she had made that was really good. I love Za’atar, and within a few days I was trying versions of this salmon because I knew it needed to be on Mangia Monday ASAP!
For this who are not familiar with Za’atar, it is a classic Middle Eastern spice seasoning mix, consisting of oregano (and/or hyssop or wild thyme), sesame seeds, sumac, salt, and sometimes additional spices like marjoram, cumin Aleppo pepper and coriander. It is easy to make, but in Hong Kong, Mana sells a delicious version that I buy and keep it in the freezer. (Cookie + Kate and Epicurious have recipes for making your own Za’atar, or you can find it easily on Amazon. (See below.) It is great with hummus, but I am always trying to look for other ways to use it as well. I loved the idea of it on salmon, since that is our favorite fish to eat at home.
I have served this once with baked saffron rice (recipe to come at a later date), but this week I did it with a simple Israeli salad and store bought hummus and pitas. I loved how fresh it tasted and how quickly it came together when I got home from work. I know it is a recipe we will repeat often!
I generally don’t ask the fishmonger to remove the skin from my salmon even though my family doesn’t like skin on their fish AT ALL. I cook it skin side down and when I transfer the salmon from the baking tray to the platter, I just carefully remove it then with a fish spatula (See a link to my favorite one below). Keeping the skin on actually helps the fish not to stick to the pan, in my opinion, but feel free to use skinless fillets if you prefer that. (Just don’t forget to spray the baking sheet with cooking oil!)
My favorite easy topping for salmon is Dijon mustard and honey, which I thought would work well with the Za’atar. We liked the hint of sweetness and tang, but if you prefer, a simple brush of olive oil before adding the spice mix is also delicious. I did add extra sumac because I had it, but it is not necessary. Make sure to check your Za’atar mix before you add salt. Mine is salty enough that I don’t actually add any additional salt to the fish.
Salmon doneness is both a personal preference and oven situation, and obviously the size of your filets will vary, so you’ll need to experiment a bit with the cooking time for this recipe. We generally bake at 350 F (180 C) for 5-7 minutes and broil for 2-3 and find it gives us perfect medium to medium-well salmon.
Have a great week and stay tuned next week for a soup recipe that is both comforting and healthy!
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Za’atar Salmon with Israeli Salad
Ingredients
Salmon
- 4 fillets of salmon approximately 1 1/2 lbs / 680 grams in total
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey or to taste
- 1 Tbsp Za'atar spice blend
- ½ tsp sumac optional
- 1 lemon thinly sliced into half moons
Israeli Salad
- 12 oz – 1 lb (340 – 460 g) cherry tomatoes quartered
- 12 oz – 1 lb (340 – 460 g) Persian or English cucumber diced
- ½ cup red onion minced
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or to taste
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice or to taste
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
Optional Ingredients
- hummus
- toasted pita bread
Instructions
Za'atar Salmon
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Spray baking tray covered with tin foil with cooking spray.
- Slice lemon. Combine Dijon mustard and honey in a small bowl or ramekin. Combine za'atar, sumac and salt in another small bowl or ramekin.
- Place salmon pieces on baking tray, skin side down. Brush honey mustard mixture on top and sides of salmon fillets. Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over each piece and top each fillet with 2-3 thin lemon slices. (I forgot to do this in the photos. I added the sliced before broiling instead.)
- Bake for approximately 5-7 minutes. Turn on broiler and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until desired degree of doneness.
- Transfer salmon to a serving platter, removing skin if desired. (It comes off pretty easily if you use a fish spatula.) Garnish with any additional lemon slices.
Israeli Salad (Can be made before the salmon or even earlier)
- Chop the tomatoes and the cucumber. I usually take some of the seeds out of the tomatoes and put them in a colander to drain a little before mixing. You can also remove some of the seeds from cucumber if desired.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl. (Note: The amounts of the cucumber and tomato do not have to be exact. You want to have an about equal amount of each, or you can put more of one or the other to your personal liking.)
- Taste for seasoning and add more olive oil, lemon juice and/or salt to taste.
- Keep at room temperature until serving or refrigerate for longer storage, but know that the vegetables will release more water over time.
- Serve with Salmon. To make it more substantial, I usually also add hummus and toasted pita bread.