Walnut And Sage-Crusted Salmon Recipe

For this walnut and sage-crusted salmon, Mashed recipe developer Feta Topalu was inspired by a dish of hazelnut-crusted salmon she once ordered at a Californian restaurant. "When I think of crusted salmon," she says, "I am always reminded of that meal." Still, when she came up with this recipe, she didn't want to recreate the restaurant dish exactly but instead decided to put her own spin on it. As she puts it, "I thought I would play around with the flavors for this salmon recipe to create something new and a little different from a simple, pan-seared salmon recipe."

While this dish might seem kind of fancy, Topalu promises that it's not all that difficult to make. "This recipe comes together rather quickly," she says, noting that "it helps that the salmon doesn't take long to cook." She describes the results as "flaky [and] buttery," adding that the walnuts give the final plate a nice crunch.

As you can tell from the name of this recipe, you're going to need salmon, walnuts, and fresh sage. You'll also need olive oil and butter for cooking; salt, pepper, garlic, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup for flavoring; and parsley to add some bright color.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place the salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon, maple syrup, melted butter, garlic, and sage.

Spread the mixture over the salmon.

Evenly spread the walnuts over the salmon. Gently press down to allow walnuts to adhere to the fish.

Place in the oven and bake for 8–12 minutes, until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

When she served this dish, Topalu says that she "served this walnut and sage-crusted salmon with asparagus and mashed potatoes." If you're not an asparagus fan, however, you can certainly swap out that vegetable for something you like better — Topalu suggests bok choy as an alternative. As for the starch, you can switch that up, too. She recommends french fries, but rice would also work well. You could also go with a lighter side dish and pair this salmon with a simple salad.

As to what occasion this salmon is best suited for, Topalu feels that "because this meal comes together quickly, it makes it ideal to make this on a busy weeknight." She does feel, however, that the herb and nut crust makes the salmon sufficiently "elevated" and that it could work well for a more formal type of occasion when guests are expected for dinner.

As this dish is made with a pound of salmon and meant to serve four people, you may find yourself with leftovers if you live in a smaller household, but these need not go to waste. Topalu says any leftover salmon can be refrigerated for three days if stored in an airtight container, while you can also freeze it for a much longer period of time.

If you're not a fan of eating the same thing for more than one meal in a row, you can also switch up the leftover salmon and use it in different dishes. "To repurpose leftovers," says Topalu, "the salmon can be used in a salad [or] an omelet, [made] into a creamy dip, or [used to make] salmon cakes." Some other ideas that might work for you include using it in a pasta dish, in a rice or grain bowl, or to make fish tacos.