Perfectly cooked salmon with lemon spaghetti

Collaboration – Nothing tastes better than a perfect piece of baked salmon that is still nice and pink inside, but also has a crispy skin. And let me have a delicious recipe for that today! I served my baked salmon with a creamy lemon spaghetti and green asparagus and also made an irresistibly tasty marinade for the salmon with honey, soy sauce and garlic. And for those who like it, a pinch of chili can also be added.

For baked salmon I always buy salmon fillets with skin, because the skin naturally prevents too fast cooking. In this recipe I bake the salmon on the salmon side first and finish baking on the skin side when the sauce goes into the pan. It can then caramelize nicely and the skin ensures that this does not go too quickly. Smart tip: Look carefully at the side of the salmon while baking. You will see the color change from salmon pink to white when heated, which is a sign that the salmon is cooking. When the discoloration has reached half way, it is time to turn the salmon over on the skin side. Then the sauce is added and the salmon can continue to cook while the sauce caramelizes. The result is a perfect rosé baked salmon.

You can now find the most responsible salmon in the world at PLUS

When I start working with salmon, I want to cook with the most responsible variant. The quality of salmon often fluctuates and the origin is not always clear. My enthusiasm was therefore great when I heard that at ‘my’ PLUS they now exclusively have the Nordic Blu salmon in all stores. That’s a big plus for PLUS, because this is also called the most responsible salmon in the world.

The salmon is farmed in the Skjerstadfjord in northern Norway and has the ASC certification, which you only get if the fish is farmed responsibly. The cold, fresh water from the mountains and glaciers (which prevents fish lice), the strong current (which salmon need to get fat) and the carefully composed feed make the salmon strong and healthy. Which, by the way, has been done for generations by the Wenberg and Øksheim families and the fourth generation is already eager to make the process even more sustainable. Do you want to know more about this? Be sure to check out this video!

I don’t know about you, but my piece of salmon tastes a lot better knowing this. You have to prepare it well, otherwise it won’t taste anything ;-). But now you can with this recipe for perfectly baked salmon!

You can find different variations of the Nordic Blu salmon at PLUS. With skin, without skin, in fillets, larger portions and also in cubes. More inspiration to cook with this salmon? View all my salmon recipes here!

For the marinade, whisk together 3 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp crushed garlic and a pinch of black pepper in a small bowl. I also knock in ½ tsp chili flakes myself, but add it to taste. One just wants it a bit spicier than the other. Leaving it out is of course also an option.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a good pinch of salt when the water boils. Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the package.
Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and fruit the shallot for a few minutes in a dash of olive oil with a pinch of salt. Stir in the green asparagus and stir-fry over medium heat for a few minutes. Lower the heat and pour the 200 ml of cream into the pan along with the remaining juice of the lemon you used for the sauce earlier. Simmer for a few minutes until the asparagus are al dente and then season with salt and pepper.
When the spaghetti is cooked al dente, transfer it to the sauce with tongs. Stir, add a few more spoonfuls of the cooking liquid and heat over a low heat until the sauce has become nice and creamy. Taste and, if desired, further flavor with extra lemon juice (you have a second lemon), pepper or salt. Stir in the chopped dill at the end.
Pat the 4 salmon fillets dry with kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat and pour in a generous drizzle of olive oil. Place the salmon fillets (skin side up) in the hot fat and fry until you see the salmon half cooked. Then carefully turn the salmon fillets with a spatula and continue cooking on the skin side for another minute. Lower the heat and pour the marinade you made earlier over the salmon and into the pan. Let simmer and caramelize for 2 minutes and brush the salmon several times with a brush. Then turn off the heat and remove from the pan. Cut 4 thick slices of the second lemon and quickly fry them alternately in the marinade that is left in the pan.
Divide the spaghetti with lemon sauce and asparagus over 4 plates and place the salmon fillets on top. Garnish with the fried lemon slices, extra dill and a pinch of black pepper.

With this recipe you can make a main course for 4 people.
Good timing allows you to cook this dish very efficiently. First you cook the spaghetti, at the same time you start making the lemon sauce with asparagus and you bake the salmon as soon as the spaghetti has just been added to the sauce.
Preparation: 30 minutes