Roasted Salmon With Asparagus, Lemon and Brown Butter

By Kay Chun

Published April 13, 2021

  • Beatriz Da Costa for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(1,650)
Comments
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Ready in just 15 minutes, this fast dinner combines silky salmon with a vibrant green medley of asparagus and peas. While the fish roasts, the vegetables and sauce come together in one pan on the stovetop. Thinly slicing the asparagus is the trick to maintaining a crisp texture that complements the tender salmon, while bright lemon juice and zingy capers balance the nutty brown butter sauce. Parsley is used here to finish, but dill or tarragon would also be lovely. Leftover vegetables make a fantastic omelet filling the next day.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • Kosher salt and pepper

  • 1 pound asparagus, tough stems trimmed, stalks sliced ¼-inch-thick on a slight bias (leave tips whole)

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving

  • 2 tablespoons drained capers

  • ½ cup thawed frozen peas

  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

8 grams carbs; 124 milligrams cholesterol; 557 calories; 15 grams monosaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 41 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 780 milligrams sodium; 39 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 450 degrees. Rub salmon all over with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange skin side-down on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until medium, 8 to 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    While the salmon roasts, prepare the asparagus: In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add asparagus, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer asparagus to a plate.

  3. Step 3

    Reduce heat to medium and add butter to skillet. Cook, stirring, until foam subsides and butter is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. (Be careful not to burn). Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice, capers, peas, parsley and cooked asparagus. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Step 4

    Divide vegetables among plates. Top with salmon and spoon over any remaining pan sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,650 user ratings
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Comments

Barbara

I cook asparagus with a teaspoonful of water in the microwave on high for one minute and it is tender-crisp every time. The butter sauce, if desired, could be added afterward.

Martha

Roasted the asparagus along with the salmon. Added butter to the drippings the the rest after the butter browned for the sauce. Easy and repeat worthy for a week night dinner.

Anita

We found this greasy with the amount of butter called for. Next time I’ll skip the butter and after sautéing the asparagus I’ll make a pan sauce with stock or wine plus the lemon juice and capers, which were delicious over the asparagus. And more sauce would be welcome over the bland salmon.

Karen S

This is very tasty but I doubled the sauce - riffing on https://ahealthymakeover.com/grilled-haddock-with-lemon-caper-sauce/ Sautéd asparagus then added sliced fresh snap peas half way through. Added the sauce and parsley. Cooked the salmon on the grill and served it on a bed of the veggies. Nice!

karen

Easy, nice recipe. As others, I roasted the asparagus with the salmon, then finished in the pan with 1 c peas while cooking the salmon a bit longer. Trying to think of an herb or perhaps garlic to broaden the palate from tangy acidic. I say it’s a nice Tuesday night recipe, but not show stopping.

Liss

I agree with others that it needed more sauce – Next time I would make the sauce like a hollandaise and add tempered egg yolks so it would have more creamy staying power.

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