Looking for a simple dinner that's festive and pretty, but still easy to create and allows you to continue spending time with family rather than spending all your time in the kitchen?
Look no more. Burst Cranberry Dill Salmon is tangy, sweet, herby and not to mention, colorful and merry.
The thing I love the most about salmon is that it really comes together quickly. Regardless of what you do to a filet of salmon, it's hard to spend more than 30 minutes on it since it cooks relatively quickly and bakes so easily in the oven, it doesn't require a ton of watching.
I've been stumped on what to do for my own Christmas Dinner so I started playing around. Cranberries are so beautiful to utilize in dishes, but they're also so tart, so balancing out that tartness is important to ensure they do not become overbearing.
The dressing for the salmon and vegetables is quite simple and packs a lot of layers of flavor. The addition of the asparagus and sweet onion continue to add additional depths of flavor. We are this with roasted potatoes, but my Creme Fraiche Mashed Potatoes would be a lovely side as would rice.
How to Make Burst Cranberry Salmon:
The Salmon:
I always use Wild Sockeye Salmon. I can get a 1.5-2 lb filet at Costco for $20-$30 and it's always enough to give me 2-3 meals worth with my family. Feeding a crowd? Pick up 2.
Cranberries:
I used fresh. It was such a beautiful color and the flavors melded into the dressing, salmon and vegetables beautifully.
Asparagus:
The Asparagus needs a bit of a head start on the salmon to become tender, hence why I put it in with the onions and the cranberries. Ensure to clip the Asparagus at about halfway up from the stalk. It's not in season right now, so the ends can become very woody/tough.
Sweet White Onion:
The onion becomes so sweet while cooking in the dressing. They almost taste caramelized from the honey so definitely include these!
To get started, I created the dressing. If you would like to serve more on the side, definitely double it. The amount I made generously coated the vegetables as well as the salmon, but some folks may enjoy an extra drizzle after the cooking process.
I used asparagus and sweet white onion in the bottom of my pan, however, zucchini or other quick-cooking, tender vegetables would work well.
I used about half the marinade on the veggies, gave them a good stir and popped them into the oven for about 15 minutes to give the cranberries a head start. T
After washing and patting dry my salmon, I simply waited for the vegetables to come out after 15 minutes. Added my fresh salmon filets to the vegetables, poured the rest of the dressing on each filet and topped each with an orange slice.
The oranges really are beautiful in the dish, but also, the fresh orange flavor does really come through on the salmon and it's delicious.
Back into the oven for about 15 minutes until the salmon is cooked to at least 145°. I used my large roasting rack, similar to the one below, found on Amazon. I just removed the roasting rack, but it allowed everything enough room to cook well and not be soggy!!
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