This chili kumquat salmon with pickled kumquat & kale salad is exactly what you need to switch up your dinner game. It's over the top delicious, quick, very healthy, and different from the usual.
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Why cook as steaks instead of the filet?
The benefit to cutting the salmon as steaks is that it cooks faster. Cut your salmon into 4 steaks, each ~3" wide. If you choose to leave it whole, it will take ~5 minutes longer to cook.
How do you know the salmon is cooked?
You can flake off a piece of the fish on the thickest end with a fork and if it flakes off easily, then it is done. Also, you know the fish is cooked if the skin peels off easily. You can use a spatula to check if the skin peels off.
Have you noticed the white protein that seeps to the surface of the fish? When you see this white protein, the salmon done cooking. Don’t worry, it is safe to eat. This method is not a good indicator for other types of fish, but works great with salmon.
More salmon recipes
I have an entire category dedicated to delicious fish recipes. And if you love salmon, here are some blog favorites:
Beware of dyed salmon!
Some companies die their salmon to make it look more red and fresh. It is important to know that not all salmon is dark red. There are different species of salmon and they are all different shades of orange, pink, and red. The saying, " the darker the salmon the more nutrients" is deceiving. If you are comparing two of the same species, then it is true. If they are different species, you cannot compare the color. I use copper river salmon because I know the quality is great. Keep your eye out for copper river salmon in your grocery store.
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Chili Kumquat Salmon with Pickled Kumquat & Kale Salad
Ingredients
Chili Kumquat Salmon
- 1.5 lbs. coho salmon filet
- 2 oz. kumquats very thinly sliced
- ¼ cup honey
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Quick Pickled Kumquat & Kale Salad
- 1 bunch lacinato kale chopped
- 2 carrots julienne
- 2 oz. kumquats sliced into quarter-inch thick chunks
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ cup shelled pistachios
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- If you'd like, cut your salmon into 4 steaks, each ~3" wide. The benefit to cutting the salmon now is that it cooks faster. If you choose to leave it whole, it will take ~5 minutes longer to cook.
- Place your salmon on a baking sheet. (Line with foil for easy clean up.) Spread the honey over the salmon. Sprinkle the minced garlic over the honey, sprinkle with the red pepper flakes, and top with the thinly sliced kumquats.
- Place the fish in the oven. Cook 15-20 minutes if cut into steaks, 20-25 minutes if cooking the filet whole.
- In the meantime, add the thicker sliced kumquats to a saucepan. Cover with 1-inch of water. Bring to boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain the kumquats. Place the drained kumquats in a bowl with the rice vinegar and brown sugar. Mix well and let the sugar dissolve. Add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add your kale and carrots to your serving bowl. Pour over the pickled kumquats & their pickling liquid. Mix well. Add your pistachios. Set aside until ready to serve.
- Serve your salmon on top of the salad, and serve both immediately. Enjoy!
Gina
Wow! One of the best salmon recipes I have tried in a while. Kumquats are abundant right now in my yard, so this was a perfect find! Thanks!
Candice
Thank you for sharing, Gina... I'm so glad you liked it!
rohit aggarwal
thank you for giving me wonderful information
Candice
You are very welcome, Rohit 🙂