Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon

The topping on this Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon is a great way to add flavor and also make sure roast salmon doesn’t dry out in the oven. It's flavored with garlic, thyme, smoked sea salt flakes, aleppo pepper and just a sprinkle of nutmeg. 

If you’ve seen my recipe for pineapple buns, you are already familiar with what craquelin pastry is, although to be fair, I never called it that. That thin topping I added to the buns - the one that baked up crunchy and shiny - is a craquelin. Indeed typically craquelin pastry is sweet. And it’s usually baked on a bread or pastry of some kind. 

The word itself is French, naturalment, and translates to “cracker.” I presume the topping was so named because it is crunchy like a cracker when baked, although I must warn you that that does not hold true when you bake it on top of fish.  It gets a little crunchy but certainly not cracker crisp!

Since craquelin pastry is usually sweet I was intrigued when I saw the recipe for savory craquelin in delicious. magazine and couldn’t wait to try it. Was it good? Suffice to say, I'll be making this again! The topping was flavorful and delightful and the salmon below was tasty and cooked to perfection.

Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon

As mentioned above, this recipe was adapted from one in the UK magazine delicious. March 2021 issue but you can also find it online. You can mix the craquelin by hand but it’s much easier to get it nice and smooth with an electric mixer and I promise you want it nice and smooth. 

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets, about 1.5 lbs or 800g altogether, at room temperature

Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving

For the craquelin pastry topping:

2 slightly rounded tablespoons unsalted butter (about 30g), at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon demerara sugar

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes (I used Maldon.)

Sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pul biber (aleppo pepper) or substitute 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra to serve, if you like

1 fat clove garlic, crushed and minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked off and chopped, plus extra sprigs to serve

3 tablespoons plain flour

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and prepare your baking pan by lining it with baking parchment.

Use electric beaters to make the craquelin pastry topping by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the salt, nutmeg, pul biber, garlic, thyme and flour.

Beat again until it’s thoroughly combined and spreadable.

Put the salmon on the lined baking pan, skin-side down. Dry the tops thoroughly with a paper towel. If the fish is wet, it’s a challenge to get the craquelin to stick and spread. 

Divide the craquelin dough between the salmon fillets. Spread each over the top of the fish using the back of a spoon. 

Pop the pan in your preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Finish it off under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the top is golden and the fish is just cooked through.

Sprinkle the fillets with the lemon juice, then add an extra sprig of thyme to each and a pinch more aleppo pepper or cayenne, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It's the second Friday of the month so that means it's time for my Fish Friday Foodie friends to share recipes with you. Our theme today is Salmon Chanted Evening 🤣   but feel free to make these for lunch as well! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime for the fun theme name and all her behind the scenes work! 

• Chili Glazed Salmon from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Creamy Garlic Butter Salmon from Making Miracles
• Salmon Burgers With Cocktail Sauce from Sneha’s Recipe
• Salmon with Lemon Caper Butter from Palatable Pastime
• Savory Craquelin Roast Salmon from Food Lust People Love
• Smoked Salmon Pasta from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Charcoal Grilled Soy Ginger Salmon #FishFridayFoodies

This charcoal grilled soy ginger salmon is bursting with flavor from the sticky roasted marinade but what really makes the salmon divine is the smokiness from the hot charcoal.

I know a lot of people swear by their gas grills. I’m even related to some. Certainly, you can make grill marks with a gas grill and you can even throw in some wood chips as long as they are in a box or covered with foil. But in our humble opinion, you just aren’t going to match the taste of meat, seafood or even vegetables grilled over coal.

We feel so strongly about this that we actually own two Weber grills, a big one and a small one. Which one we use depends on how many people we are feeding. My husband hates to waste charcoal. He’s usually the one in charge of the grill and he has the whole process down to a fine art.

If you are a fan of seafood on the grill, you might also enjoy my piri-piri grilled whole baby grouper, my spicy Balinese grilled fish or my stuffed fresh sardines wrapped in parma ham then grilled.

Charcoal Grilled Soy Ginger Salmon

Depending on how widely spaced the bars on your grill are, you may need an additional grate to lay on top to keep your fish from falling through the gaps. I bought one on Amazon < affiliate link – which is non-stick and works wonderfully. You could also simply lay the fish on a piece of heavy-duty foil.

Ingredients (to serve 4)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled (about 1 tablespoon grated)
1/4 cup or 60ml soy sauce
3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
1 tablespoon good quality Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/4 lb or 567g wild salmon fillet, skin on

For garnish:
Chopped cilantro

Method
Grate the ginger and garlic into a small bowl.

Add in the rest of the marinade ingredients and stir well. Set aside.

Cut your salmon fillet into four portions but DO NOT cut through the skin below. We want what appears to be one whole piece so the skin will help hold it together as it cooks but we also want to be able to spoon marinade between the portions.

Place the fish in a shallow dish and spoon the marinade over it and between the pieces, reserving perhaps a third for basting when it’s grilling.

Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to cook but at least 30 minutes.

Light a good size pile of briquettes in your grill. They are ready for cooking when the outsides are mostly grey with a red core, about 20 minutes.

Spread the coals around evenly.  The goal is a medium-hot fire.

Put your grate on the grill, if needed, then lay the salmon on top, skin side down.

Put the lid on, with vents partially open, and cook for about 8-12 minutes until the salmon is just barely cooked through, according to the thickness of the fish or to your liking. Baste halfway through with the reserved marinade.

With wild salmon, the kind I normally cook, you want to err on the side of undercooked vs overcooked because it is lean and can dry out. Farm-raised salmon will take a bit longer.

The FDA recommends cooking salmon to an internal temperature of 145°F or 63°C. If you have an instant read thermometer, stick it in the thickest part of the fillet for the most accurate reading. Get it up just past 130°F or 54°C and it will reach optimum temperature while it rests in foil.

Remove from the grill and rest, wrapped loosely with foil for 10 minutes.

Garnish with some chopped cilantro, if desired, and serve.

Enjoy!


This month my Fish Friday Foodies friends are cooking seafood outdoors at the instigation of our host and group leader, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out all the great recipes below:

• Cajun Boil on the Grill from Making Miracles
• Charcoal Grilled Soy Ginger Salmon by Food Lust People Love
• Crawdadding with Cousins Means Jambalaya by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Green Chilly Basil Pesto Grilled Prawns by Sneha's Recipe
• Grilled Garlic Shrimp with Yuzu Kosho by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Mojo Sauce from Veggies First Then Dessert
• Grilled Mahi Mahi with Blueberry Wild Rice Pilaf by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Grilled Shrimp Souvlaki on Pita from Palatable Pastime
• Spiced Shrimp on a Stick from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Are you a food blogger who would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Spicy Salmon Shrimp Loaf #BundtBakers

This spicy salmon shrimp loaf is a new take on my popular salmon shrimp burger recipe, baked in a Bundt pan. It is tender and juicy so you don’t need the pink sauce, but I highly recommend it nonetheless.

Often when I’ve read recipes for a salmon loaf, they are either made with canned salmon or are more mousse than loaf, or God forbid, both.  This one is neither. It’s a “meaty” flavorful slice and the perfect main course for your family or even a dinner party. (Anyone remember what those are?) I served this with some buttered baby new red potatoes and sautéed yellow squash so it was a colorful meal indeed.

Spicy Salmon Shrimp Loaf 

If you are using raw frozen shrimp to make this loaf, make sure to thaw and drain it thoroughly before starting. In order to protect the shrimp from freezer burn, a coat of water is usually added to the outside of the shrimp. Unless thawed and well drained, that water will add too much liquid and your loaf may fall apart.

Ingredients
For the loaf:
Canola or other light oil for greasing pan
3-4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs for coating pan
1 1/2 lb or 680g salmon fillet – weight after skinned and bones removed, if any
1 1/4 lbs or 567g raw shrimp – weight after peeling and cleaning
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
2 slices fresh whole-wheat sandwich bread
1 medium onion, chopped (my weighed about 170g)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
6-8 green onion tops, minced

For the salsa rosada or spicy mayo:
1/2 cup or 120ml good quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup or 60ml ketchup
2 teaspoons hot sauce – or more to your taste
Optional – a little grated onion

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10- cup Bundt pan by brushing the inside liberally with canola or another light oil. Sprinkle on the dried breadcrumbs to coat. Set aside.

Lay your salmon and shrimp out on a cutting board and season them with salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Put the slices of bread into your food processor and process until they are large fluffy crumbs.

Add in the onion, eggs, chili pepper, mustard powder and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Pulse until all is well combined.

Cut 1/3 of the salmon and 1/3 of the shrimp into small pieces.

Add the salmon and shrimp pieces to the food processor mixture. Pulse until you have a thick paste. Tip the mixture from the food processor out into a bowl.

Cut the balance of your salmon and shrimp into 1/2 in or 1 cm cubes. Add them to the paste bowl along with the green onions.

Mix well with a spoon or spatula. I like to fry a little of the mixture to taste for seasoning at this point. If it needs more salt or black pepper add some and mix well. (This is a generous tablespoon in one of those tiny pans made for one egg.)

Spoon the mixture into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until cooked through and firm.

Meanwhile, make your salsa rosada by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

Remove the loaf from the oven and leave it to rest for about 8-10 minutes. Run a wooden skewer around the edges and middle of the Bundt pan to loosen the loaf. Cover the pan with a serving platter and invert quickly.

Garnish the loaf with chopped green onion tops and put out the salsa rosada so people can drizzle some on for themselves.

Enjoy!

This is a very unusual BundtBakers month! At the instigation of our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe, we are baking "meat" loaves instead of cake. Check out all the great recipes below! 

• Beef Veal & Pork Meatloaf Bundtlets from Sweet Sensations
• Classic Bundt Meatloaf from Making Miracles
• Dates, Peanuts Meatloaf Bundt from Patyco Candy Bar
• Homemade French Onion Soup Bundt Meatloaf with Ham & Sausage from Sneha's Recipe
• Mini meatloaves with Strawberry Rhubarb Glaze from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Salmon Shrimp Loaf from Food Lust People Love

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page.

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Baked Salmon and Veggie Parcels #FishFridayFoodies

Baked salmon and veggie parcels are an easy delicious meal that comes together quickly and, as a bonus, there are no pots or pans to wash up!



This month my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing recipes inspired by our travels. For my contribution, I reached way back to my backpacking days when my fellow Girl Scouts and I would cook whole meals wrapped in foil over a campfire.

We never did anything as fancy as salmon with asparagus, of course! But we did enjoy some fabulous meals under the stars. There is no more delicious meal than one that follows an all-day hike in the piney woods of East Texas, or really, anywhere outdoors.

The salmon and asparagus idea came from a dish I ate many moons ago in a seaside restaurant in Sydney. They look so pretty on a plate together, don’t you think? Especially if you add a slice of lemon. For my rendition, I also love the way the yellow squash peeks out, adding a little extra pop of color to echo the yellow of the lemon slice.

Baked Salmon and Veggie Parcels

These little dinner packets are easily customizable to use whatever seafood and vegetables you have on hand. Just make sure than any raw vegetables are thin or thinly sliced so they can cook quickly. Vegetables that take longer to cook, like potatoes, should be cooked ahead.

Ingredients
For the parcels:
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 small yellow squash
4-5 small cooked red potatoes
1/4 purple onion, sliced very thinly
4 wild salmon fillets
4 teaspoons butter
12 fresh asparagus stalks
4 slices lemon
salt
freshly ground black pepper
ground cayenne pepper

To garnish:
chopped parsley

Method
Preheat the oven to 400°C or 200°F.

Cut the ends off of the yellow squash and slice it thinly. Cut the cooked potatoes in 1/4 in or 6mm slices. Trim the hard ends off of the asparagus and then cut them into lengths about the same size as your salmon fillets.

Salt and pepper the salmon fillets.

Lay your foil out and drizzle the middle of the sheet with one teaspoon of olive oil about the size of your salmon fillet. Top the olive oil with one quarter of the slices of yellow squash and then potato. Salt and pepper the potatoes.

Top the potatoes with one of the salmon fillets then add 1 teaspoon of butter in two pieces.

Press a few slices of onion into the butter along with one quarter of the asparagus pieces. The butter helps hold them all neatly on top.

Top the whole pile with a lemon slice.

Pull the foil edges together and fold them over to seal the parcel. Repeat the process to create the other three salmon and veggie parcels.

Place all four parcels onto a baking tray and bake in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.

Wild salmon takes less time to cook since the fillets are generally thinner and less fatty than farmed salmon. I find that 15 minutes is enough time for wild salmon to be done to our liking. Farmed salmon may take that extra five minutes. If you are unsure, by all means, check for doneness by cutting into one of the fillets before plating.

When time’s up on the salmon, remove the baking pan from the oven and leave to stand for 1 minute.

Carefully open each parcel so you don't burn yourself with the steam that will pour out. Use a wide spatula to slide the pile onto a plate. Sprinkle on a little chopped parsley, if desired.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other great seafood recipes my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing today that have been inspired by their travels. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for this great theme!

• Baked Salmon and Veggie Parcels by Food Lust People Love
• Foiled Fish with Mango by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fried Bombils and Bombay Ducks with Temprado Masala by Sneha's Recipe
• Irish Fish Cakes by Karen's Kitchen Stores
• Pickled Fish, A Plethora of Textures, and Memories of a Holiday Trip to Denmark by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Senegalese Fish and Rice (Thiéboudienne) by Making Miracles

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Herb Butter Poached Wild Salmon #FishFridayFoodies

Herb butter poached wild salmon is tender and flavorful. The herbs complement the delicate flavor of the fish, and the simmering butter ensures that it won’t overcook or dry out.

I’m a fan of all salmon but I especially love the flavor of wild sockeye salmon. This is going to sound odd perhaps, but it reminds me more of crab than of its relation, farmed salmon. Aside from cost, the only problem with wild salmon is that it is so lean that it’s easy to overcook, if you are not careful. Nobody wants dry fish. Fish should be tender and flaky, and even, (dare I use the hated word?) moist.

Poaching to the rescue! One can, of course, poach seafood in all sorts of liquids. As a matter of fact, if you scroll on down past my wild salmon, you’ll find links to several recipes since that’s this month’s theme for my Fish Friday Foodies group. While researching methods, I came across a recipe for butter poaching fish and thought, sure. Confit duck is essentially duck poached long and slow in duck fat. No good reason why we can’t poach fish in butter. It just hadn’t occurred to me.

Wild salmon is perfect for poaching in herb butter. It cooks relatively quickly, even on a gentle simmer, and turns out so very - here I go again - moist. I’m not sure I can cook it any other way now. Such a treat.

I mean, really. Look at that color. Delicious as it can also be, farmed salmon cannot outdo wild salmon for color. Some people even say it's better for us.

Herb Butter Poached Wild Salmon

Do not worry about all the “leftover” butter. It can be used to flavor vegetables, in another seafood dish or chill it and pop it in an airtight bag in the freezer to keep for the next time you poach fish.

Ingredients
4 wild salmon fillets (about 1 lb or 450g in total)
1 1/2 cups or 340g butter
A few sprigs parsley
A few sprigs thyme
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Ground cayenne pepper
To serve: slices of lemon

Method
Remove any hard stems from the herbs and chop them finely. Season the fish fillets with a sprinkle of salt and the two peppers, on both sides.

Melt the butter in as small a pan as will fit your fish, with high enough sides to contain butter to cover. As it warms up, add in the minced herbs.

Gently add the fish fillets to the herbed butter, skin side down. Poach the salmon over a low heat until it flakes easily, about 10 minutes. If the butter doesn't quite cover it, spoon the simmering butter over it occasionally.

Remove the fish fillets from the herb butter. Serve with a spoonful of the herb butter over each fillet and a slice of juicy lemon.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely poached fish recipes my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing today. Many thanks to our group creator and organizer, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for this great theme and all of her behind the scenes work that keeps this blogging event running so smoothly.

• Chamomile-Poached Sand Dabs with Candy Caps from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herb Butter Poached Wild Salmon from Food Lust People Love
• Poached Cod Cantonese-Style with Chiles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Poached Prawn Cocktail from Sneha's Recipe
• Poached Salmon with Bourbon Cream Sauce from Palatable Pastime
• Poached Sole with Caper Sauce from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Tomato Basil Poached Fish from Making Miracles
• Tomato Poached Cod over Egg Noodles from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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