Marry Me salmon
23 min · 43 g protein · 355 cals / serving
The salmon sibling of the most-cooked chicken dinner on the internet: wild sockeye salmon seared golden, then finished in a creamy sun-dried tomato and parmesan sauce with garlic, oregano and a pinch of chili, and a bag of spinach wilted through it. Blended cottage cheese makes the sauce rich and smooth with a fraction of the cream. One skillet, under 25 minutes, and keto.
Ingredients
- 4 wild sockeye fillets (1 1/3 lb) sockeye salmon, skinless; frozen is fine, thawed
- 1 tsp paprika, smoked
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
Sauce
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp cottage cheese, full fat (it splits less)
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth, cool, or fish stock
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, chopped; if oil-packed, drained and patted dry
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 7 oz (6 big handfuls) baby spinach
To serve
- a few leaves fresh basil, torn
Steps
- Pat the salmon dry and rub it all over with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the salmon, presentation side down, for 3 minutes until golden, then flip and cook 1 minute more; it will finish in the sauce. Move it to a plate.
- While it sears, blend the cottage cheese with the cool broth, the parmesan and the cream until completely smooth (a stick blender in a jug takes 30 seconds).
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, basil and chili flakes to the pan and stir for 1 minute, until the garlic smells sweet. Add the spinach a handful at a time and toss until it wilts and the pan is nearly dry, about 2 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat for a minute. Pour in the cottage cheese sauce, scraping up the browned bits, and set the pan over low heat. Stir until the sauce is hot and steaming but not bubbling, about 2 minutes; if it ever bubbles, lift the pan off the heat. Boiling makes cottage cheese grainy.
- Nestle the salmon and its juices into the sauce, cover and warm on low for 2–4 minutes, checking from 2, until it flakes and reads 145°F in the thickest part. Loosen the sauce with a splash of broth if it thickens, scatter with basil and serve straight away; salmon dries out when reheated.
Good to know
What should I serve with it?
Cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles or green beans keep the plate keto. Otherwise it is very good over pasta, rice or crushed new potatoes, which soak up the sauce.
Can I use farmed salmon?
Yes: farmed Atlantic salmon is richer and more forgiving, at about 54 instead of 67. Give it a minute longer in the sauce.
Can I use all cream, like the original?
Yes, for the classic: 1 cup of heavy cream in place of the cottage cheese and cream, simmered 3 minutes until it coats a spoon, at about 46 instead of 67.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 131
- Protein
- (48%)
- 16 g
- Fat
- (42%)
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- (10%)
- 4 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 312 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1418 kcal goes into the pot and 1248 g of ingredients comes out as about 1080 g of food: 131 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.