Sugar-Spiced Salmon with Herbed Pilaf Recipe

Spiced caramelised salmon served on a bed of savoury rice with feta and veggies. Colourful, healthy and delicious!

Ingredients

Rice:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 4 cardamom pods (tie them together so you can fish them out)
• 200 g (1 cup) easy-cook rice
• 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube (or 1 tsp veg bouillon for gluten-free)
• Boiling water (enough to cook the rice)
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 5 cherry or small tomatoes, chopped
• 150 g (about 1 cup + 2 tbsp) crumbled feta
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn

Salmon:

• 4 salmon fillets
• 2 tbsp olive oil (total)
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1½ tbsp paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Start with the rice: heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan. Add the chopped onion and cook 3–4 minutes over medium heat until it begins to soften.
2. Add the garlic, paprika, turmeric, ground coriander and the cardamom pods. Stir and cook for about a minute to release the spices’ aroma.
3. Add the rice and crumble in the stock cube. Stir until the stock is incorporated, then pour boiling water from the kettle so the rice is covered by about 1 cm of water. Stir once and simmer gently for 15–18 minutes until the rice is tender. Add a little more water if the pan starts to go dry; you shouldn’t need to drain the rice.
4. While the rice cooks, prepare the salmon. Mix 1½ tbsp of the oil with the brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Press the mixture onto the flesh side of the salmon fillets.
5. Heat the remaining ½ tbsp oil in a frying pan and place the salmon skin-side down. Cook 3–4 minutes over medium heat, then transfer to a hot grill (broiler) and continue for another 4–5 minutes until the sugar coating is dark and caramelised and the salmon is cooked through. Remove from the grill.
6. When the rice is cooked, remove and discard the cardamom pods. Stir in the chopped green pepper, tomatoes, crumbled feta, lemon juice, salt, pepper and torn parsley.
7. Serve the rice on four plates and top each with a salmon fillet. For a bright contrast, serve with a fruit salsa such as peach and pineapple if you like.

Notes

Nutritional information is per serving and is approximate.

Nutrition

Calories: 545 kcal | Carbohydrates: 26 g | Protein: 41 g | Fat: 30 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Cholesterol: 127 mg | Sodium: 1031 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 10 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.