Mediterranean Citrus Roasted Salmon With Olive Relish

Mediterranean Citrus Roasted Salmon with Olive Relish is bright, packed with flavor, layered with fennel, shallots, garlic then topped with a citrusy olive relish. Ready in just 30-minutes, this balance of briny and zesty salmon is great for busy weeknight dinners as well as effortless entertaining.

As a chef, I know salmon cooks quickly and works wonders on weeknights when you're busy or just flat out tired and lazy. A few of my other quick, back-pocket recipes are Chimichurri Salmon and Cast Iron Salmon with Creamy Schug.

A Quick Glance At Mediterranean Roasted Salmon Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Comes together and is on the table in 30-minutes.
• It's a whole meal in one shot, just like Marry Me Chicken Tortellini.
• Elevated but very approachable.
• Richness meets salty and briny with a hit of citrus.

Recipe Ingredients

• Salmon: Wild Atlantic Salmon, Steelhead or King salmon can all be used for roasted salmon. Wild Atlantic Salmon had the most mild flavor and is typically the easiest to find. These same varieties can be used for air fryer salmon as well.
• Fennel: Fresh fennel has an aromatic anise flavor, so fresh and crunchy.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves for this recipe. Pro tip: buy the bag or plastic jar of fresh peeled garlic cloves, dump into a food processor and allow it to do the mincing for you. Store the minced garlic back in the bag or jar it came in for optimal freshness and odor control in your fridge.
• Potatoes: Fingerling potatoes are fun and have a variety of colors to choose from. They can typically be found at your local grocer.
• Olives: We will make a relish with a combination of green, castelvetrano, and Kalamata. Buy them pre-pitted to save labor and time.
• Citrus: Both lemons and oranges are used for a quick hit of acid to boost flavor.
• Fresh herbs: Using fresh dill, fresh thyme and fresh parsley layers freshness into this Mediterranean salmon recipe. Dried herbs don't add the same flavor.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• Baby Yukon potatoes or baby red potatoes can be used in place of fingerling potatoes. Larger red or yukons can also be used if you cut them into smaller pieces.
• Potatoes can also be omitted. Serve the Mediterranean salmon with Mediterranean Cucumber Salad.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

How To Make Mediterranean Citrus Roasted Salmon

Step 1: Thinly slice fennel and combine with shallots, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Step 2: Top salmon with fennel mixture, reserving a small amount for potatoes.

Step 3: Toss potatoes with remaining fennel mix then roast fingerling potatoes on a separate sheet.

Step 4: Roast salmon until the center reaches 145°F.

Step 5: Blend olive relish ingredients in food processor.

Step 6: Serve relish over salmon and potatoes.

Where Do I Buy Fresh Salmon?

People ask me this question a lot, and rightfully so! If you live in the Midwest like I do, or another landlocked destination, you probably wonder where to get the freshest seafood.

These are a few of my local favorites that are easily accessible to ordinary folks, no business license or chef experience needed.

• Supreme Lobster - Supreme Lobster is a wholesale seafood distributor to a large amount of restaurants in Chicago and the surrounding area. As a chef, I know this, but the secret is they actually have a retail storefront as well with high quality products where you could easily find this side of salmon.
• Lawrence Fish Market - Lawrence Fish Market is a sushi restaurant in Chicago that also sells fish by the pound. It's more of a specialty shop with only a few varieties available for by the pound but the quality is exceptional and salmon is available.
• Jewel - Lastly is Jewel grocery store. Jewel has a butcher counter where you can purchase fish and often has sides of salmon. It's easy, it's extremely accessible and it will work just fine.

Don't be afraid to ask the person selling you the fish if you can smell the fish, have a closer look so you can look for firmness and bright color as well as asking about responsible sourcing.

Expert Cooking Tips

• The potatoes and salmon cook for different lengths of time so make sure and place them on separate baking sheets.
• Keep an eye on the temperature of the salmon, it's easy to overcook. Overcooked salmon will be dry. 145°F is the temperature you're aiming for in the center of the salmon. It's the same temp whether it's roasted or cooked in an air fryer like Asian Air Fryer Salmon.
• Line your pans with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
• Smash the garlic by placing the side of the knife over the clove then smashing down on the knife with the opposite palm before adding to the food processor.

How To Skin A Side Of Salmon

Skinning a side of salmon is easier than you think. This technique will blow your mind!

• Step 1: Cut the belly portion off the salmon and either discard or save to make salmon burgers.
• Step 2: Start at the tail. Using an extremely sharp filet knife or chef knife, slice downward through the flesh but not through the skin.
• Step 3: Once you've sliced through the skin, position your knife sideways and glide it sideways while pulling downward to slice the flesh away from the skin. Once you have 2-3 inches of flesh pulled away from the skin set your knife to the side.
• Step 4: Grab a kitchen towel or paper towel and put it on the tail where the flesh is cut away. Using your hand, palm facing down, put it under the salmon that's been cut away from the skin. Press down and out away from you, running your hand along the salmon separating the skin from the flesh.

Mediterranean Citrus Roasted Salmon Recipe FAQs

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📖Recipe

Mediterranean Citrus Roasted Salmon With Olive Relish

Krista Stechman

Mediterranean Citrus Roasted Salmon with Olive Relish is bright, packed with flavor and done in just 30-minutes! Topped with fennel, garlic and shallots and a citrus olive relish. Great for weeknight dinners as well as entertaining a crowd.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course brunch, dinner, lunch

Cuisine american

Servings 6 servings

Calories 656 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  1 food processor
• ▢
  1 mandolin slicer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salmon

• ▢ 3 lbs side of salmon wild Atlantic, trimmed, skin off
• ▢ 4 oz shallots fine dice
• ▢ 6 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 bulb fennel shaved thin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper coarse ground
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1½ lbs fingerling potatoes optional
• ▢ 1½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal (only needed if roasting fingerlings)

Olive Relish

• ▢ 4½ oz green olives pitted
• ▢ 4 oz castelvetrano olives pitted
• ▢ 4 oz kalamata olives pitted
• ▢ 1 clove garlic smashed
• ▢ 1 oz capers
• ▢ 2 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
• ▢ zest of 1 lemon
• ▢ 1 tablespoon orange juice fresh
• ▢ 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 tbsp fresh thyme stemmed
• ▢ 2 tablespoon fresh dill rough chop
• ▢ 1 cup fresh parsley rough chop
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
• ▢ 1 pinch kosher salt Diamond Crystal
• ▢ 1 pinch black pepper coarse ground

Instructions

 

Salmon

• Preheat oven to 425°F, place fingerling potatoes into a medium sized pot of salted water over medium-high heat, then trim belly and skin off salmon
• Boil potatoes 10 minutes until fork tender, drain and set aside
• Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper
• Mix shallot, garlic, fennel, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a bowl then top the salmon with the mixture, reserving a small amount (¼ cup) to add to potatoes, if you choose to roast fingerling potatoes, and roast 15-17 minutes until salmon is 145°F in the center. Allow to rest 5 minutes before topping with olive relish and serving
• Toss fingerling potatoes in remaining fennel mixture along with a drizzle of olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and a pinch of pepper. Transfer potatoes to a parchment lined sheet tray and roast 25 minutes.

Olive Relish

• Add all olive relish ingredients to a food processor then blend on low until combined, about 5 seconds
• Top salmon with olive relish, cut into desired portion sizes and serve hot alongside fingerling potatoes

Notes

Skin can be left on or off of salmon, depending on preference. 

Roasting fingerling potatoes along with salmon is optional. If not roasting potatoes, use the entire fennel mixture on the salmon. 

Smash garlic cloves before mincing and before adding to the food processor. This helps speed up the process. Do this by laying each clove on a cutting board then laying the flat side of your chef knife on top of the clove and giving it a good whack with the palm of your non-dominate hand, while you hold the knife handle with your dominate hand. 

Each side of salmon with have slightly different size and shape. Temp your salmon after about 10 minutes - you don't want to overcook. 

Nutrition

Calories: 656kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 50gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 2164mgPotassium: 1932mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1300IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 127mgIron: 5mg

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