Pan-Roasted Salmon in Fresh Green Curry Sauce
Healthy, fresh and bright, this Pan-Roasted Salmon in Fresh Green Curry Sauce makes for an easy one-pan meal that might just become one of your new favorites. (p.s. Here is the exact pan I use for this and many, many more of my recipes).
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 TBSP cooking oil (I typically use coconut for this recipe, but any will work)
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms
½ large onion sliced (any color onion is fine here)
1 bell pepper thinly sliced (any color)
1 large carrot thinly sliced (I recommend using a mandoline, if you have one)
2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves if you get some stems in there as well, that’s fine
1 cup basil leaves Thai basil if you can find it!
3Â garlic cloves
1-inch piece fresh ginger grated
1 jalapeno seeded with the ribs removed (1/2 pepper is okay if you like it less spicy)
2 scallions chopped
15-oz. can of coconut milk not lite
1 tsp fish sauce (don’t skip this!)
2 tsp sugar
1 TBSP soy sauce or tamari for gluten free
4Â skinless salmon fillets
Instructions
1.     Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
2.     Add the oil to a large, oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, and sliced carrots. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until all of the veggies have softened – about 6 to 8 minutes.
3.     Meanwhile create your curry paste: In a blender, add the cilantro, basil, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and scallions. Add 2 TBSP of oil to the blender (again you can use any you like here – even olive oil – but I go with liquefied coconut, typically), and begin to blend it all up into a paste, adding more oil as needed to get things going. You don’t necessarily want to create a thin sauce here, just a thick paste. Like a thick pesto of sorts. So stop adding oil once everything is well combined and worked into a homogenous paste.
4.     Add this curry paste into the pan with the veggies and stir to combine everything. Add the coconut milk, 1 cup water (plus more, if you need to) fish sauce, sugar, and soy sauce (to taste).
5.     Season the salmon on all sides with salt and pepper, and slide the fillets into the pan, nestling them amongst the coconut milk and veggies. Put the pan in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or just until the salmon is cooked through. The fish will continue to cook in the sauce after you remove it from the oven, so I always take it out a little early. Lastly, if the sauce has thickened too much (it happens), simply add a bit of water and stir to loosen it up again.
6.     Serve right away over jasmine rice, cauliflower rice, or rice noodles – or straight out of the pan. Keep extra soy sauce, cilantro and (if you dare) fresh or pickled jalapeño slices close by for serving/garnish.Â