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Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Herb Matzo Crust


I love salmon.  I probably eat entirely too much of it. 

But what I love about salmon are the possibilities available to turn this simple fish into so many different amazing dishes.  

Salmon’s blank canvas allows for everything from rich, heavy cream sauces to light and lemony bases to enhance its taste.

When I came across this recipe for Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Herb Matzo Crust, I thought, how perfect for this time of year, matzo is everywhere.  If you have never had matzo, it’s time to pick out a box. 

It’s basically a giant unleavened cracker and is quite enjoyable when slathered with butter…yes, I eat it this way…it’s supposed to replace bread…so why not.

Anyway, the crust on this fish is to die for, so full of flavor with the herbs, lemon and butter.  I highly recommend this dish for any night of the week.  It’s high on the yum factor.

Here’s what you will need:  Salmon fillets, matzo sheets, flat-leaf parsley, fresh thyme, lemon peel and juice, grainy mustard, extra-virgin olive oil and butter.  Ingredients not shown:  Salt and pepper.


Using a food processor (or a rolling pin and a ziploc bag)  finely grind 2 sheets of matzo.


Finely chop 3 Tablespoons fresh thyme and 3 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley.  The peel of one lemon, finely chopped, and oneTablespoon of lemon juice are also needed.


In a medium bowl, combine ground matzo, parsley, thyme, lemon peel, lemon juice and grainy mustard.  Season with salt and pepper.


Stir in olive oil and melted butter.


Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper.


Cover the top of each salmon fillet completely with the matzo mixture, pressing to adhere.  Roast the salmon in a 425 degree oven until the salmon is just cooked through but still translucent in the center, about 10 minutes.


Out of the oven, here’s how it should look.  Squeeze lemon over it before serving.


The crunchy top contrasts with the texture of the fish nicely.


It’s perfect for a Passover Seder or Easter.


Enjoy your meal.

Roasted Salmon with Lemon-Herb Matzo Crust
Adapted from Rachael Ray

Six 1-inch thick center-cut salmon fillets (4-6 ounces each), skinned
2 sheets matzo, finely ground
3 Tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
Grated peel of 1 lemon, plus 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, plus more for garnish
1 Tablespoon grainy mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tablespoons butter, melted

Using a food processor (or a rolling pin and a ziploc bag)  finely grind matzo.

In a medium bowl, combine ground matzo, parsley, thyme, lemon peel, lemon juice and grainy mustard.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in olive oil and melted butter.

Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper.  Cover the top of each salmon fillet completely with the matzo mixture, pressing to adhere.  Roast the salmon in a 425 degree oven until the salmon is just cooked through but still translucent in the center, about 10 minutes.

Squeeze lemon over it before serving.

What I Was Blogging About One Year Ago Today:  A Day in Dundee Hills

Comments

  1. We’ve got a new salmon product being advertised here in the UK. Salmon fish fingers. For those who don’t know, fish fingers are small oblongs of white fish fried in breadcrumbs served usually with tomato sauce, sold frozen and loved by virtually everyone. They’re one of the most popular ways of eating fish in the UK. However they’re normally made with cod and that’s got really expensive, so they’re trying salmon ones out. I’ve not tried them yet, but I’ve hovered by the freozen food freezer and been tempted to try them.
    Salmon’s really nice, but I can’t imagine it in a little breadcrumbed package!

    Reply

  4. You can’t eat too much salmon! My husband has been making Sunday our day to have salmon, so I have begun calling that day of the week, ‘Salmon Sunday’, and it is a good day indeed. I think this will be how we prepare our salmon this Sunday.

    Reply

  8. I am all about the big sheet of Matzo with butter all over it! My kids love that too! This salmon looks ridiculously good and your photos are beautiful. You have inspired me to read the directions on my computer photo package.

    Reply

  11. Torture reading about everybodys love for Matzo when it’s not even heard of here. It’s a beautiful crust there Cathy, & pictures that sing a song of freshness & flavour in every frame. Delish!!

    Reply

  14. Looks sensational! I cannot wait to try something new like that with salmon. Sometimes just plain cooked salmon gets boring. Great job. Thanks.

    Reply

  23. I love matzoh slathered with sweet cream butter, or tuna salad, or hummus. And I probably eat way too much salmon, too. Nice way to combine the two, and to use some of those sheets of matzoh that are always left in the box after the requisite batch of matzoh brei every year.

    Reply

  24. Oh wow – that looks yummy. I too eat Salmon – but mainly in patty form!
    I make it healthy though – I also cut down and boil an eggplant – then mix that in with the salmon – along with egg, minced onion, and a hint of garlic powder and about sleeve and half of crackers. The patties come out thick and flavorful!

    Reply

  27. Looks amazing! Never done anything with Matzo – looks like something I definitely will try – maybe with the tilapia that’s in my fridge…. I am sure it would do perfectly with the tilapia too! thanks for sharing, as always, such wonderful ideas for our meals.

    Reply

  29. Who says you cannot have matzos with butter????? I like all the flavors you have used….I do not like a creamy sauce with salmon…..the fish is just too good!!!

    Reply

  31. I really need to try getting into salmon. It’s just too good for you! Keep posting stuff like this, & you just might push me over the edge. (Which means it looks fabulous!)

    Reply

  33. Your pictures are absolutely stunning. Wow, I wish I could take a picture like that.

    What a great idea for Passover and Easter…it’s exquisite.

    Reply

  37. Salmon has to be one of the prettiest foods in the food chain. I’m not crazy about farm raised salmon – I find it fatty tasting – but I love wild salmon. It can’t be beat.

    Reply

  38. Funny, I just saw a recipe somewhat similar to this one for salmon somewhere. I eat SO much salmon, and for some reason have never prepared it with a crumb type topping. It looks spectacular…I’m printing it out to make in the next week. Thanks!

    Reply

  39. It is my understanding that if I ever ate salmon out where your vineyard will be, in the northwest, I would change my mind–but until then I have just never learned to like the stuff. 🙂 Looks gorgeous though.

    Reply

  40. Passover is my favorite time of year! I love the idea of incorporating matzoh into recipes where you’d least expect it. This salmon looks fabulous (I probably eat too much, too). I can’t wait to try out your recipe! And, of course, I have to email this to my mom: the quintessential Jewish mother.

    Reply

  45. I love salmon and eat way too much of it too! Part of the reason is because fish is not filling. I don’t konw what makes me full anymore except for pigging out on desserts adn then falling into a sugar coma..haha

    Reply

  50. OK I love the mixture and esp the matzo which makes it accessible for Jewish friends during passover. That said, I will probably adapt the recipe to use Jacques Pepin’s 200 degree oven for 30-45 minutes technique. It’s just so much more relaxed for getting dinner on the table and the fish is always perfectly done.

    Reply

  54. Mmmmm, this sounds really good, I’ll have to give it a try. We eat a lot of Salmon, well, maybe not a lot but at least once a week. Soooo good for us.
    Thanks for the new Salmon recipe.

    Reply

  55. Cathy, I can’t wait to give this a try on my new BBQ!! My brother In-law goes Salmon fishing every year and comes home with a ton or two. I’ll let you know how it goes.

    Reply

  56. Cathy, I’m beginning to believe the wild boar and dos hooligans, are luckiest diners in California. What an amazing daily menu they must enjoy. This Mother’s Day I think you deserve gold bouillon. Somehow my leftover enchilada casserole is not looking so fresh. Um mm, salmon.

    Reply

  58. We are so having this for dinner tonight! I must have been Jewish in another life because I love kosher foods… especially Matzo. Now I’m a Salmon Ho as well as a Potato Ho, so perhaps I should just suffice it to say I’m a Food Ho all the way around.

    This is a wonderfully unique recipe. Bravo! I can hardly wait to serve this to Mr. Snoots.

    The pictures look like the salmon was cooked to perfection, which is difficult to get in a restaurant in my neck of the woods because they always overcook it. They just don’t understand when I order salmon cooked medium rare, so we only have salmon at home.

    On another note… No, you can’t have my crystal, lol.

    Reply

  62. I love salmon, too. Whenever I’m in the Northwest, I have it every single day. I’d have it twice a day, if I could! In a similar vein, I have Key Lime Pie every day when I’m in Florida – especially in the keys. I believe in eating local! 🙂

    Reply

  69. Oh yummy, yummy, yum yum! We eat lots of salmon (we’re Oregonian’s afterall), and I’m always ready to try a new recipe! This looks awesome, especially that grainy mustard! YUM!

    Reply

  74. WOW! this looks freaking amazing! salmon is just about my favorite fish ever, but I like it with light, refreshing sauces instead of heavy ones. the topping here you have sounds perfect. if I can’t find matzo, can I just use regular breadcrumbs?

    Reply

  76. Wow, that is some nice photography, and looks like a really tasty recepie as well.

    Also, i must say i have never seen motza before, just know of it. It is not really a stapel item here in Sweden, so thanks for that one

    /Offalboy

    Reply

  77. Oh Cathy, I thought if I came by your spot after a long day and on a very full stomach I would be able to read your post intelligently without shushing my stomach. BUT NO! Your pics are so delicious and your recipe choices divine . . . I’m in trouble again and must get off here and go for a snack. The leftover tuna salad for lunch just won’t do. Hmmmm . . . I wonder how late Raley’s stays open on Sunday nights? ; D

    I love your yummy blog!

    Reply

  78. That looks wonderful! Of course, I’ve never met a salmon dish I haven’t loved.

    Yup, I have worms, too, but I rescue them from puddles. And must admit, use them as bait to catch the fish from our pond. That old circle of life rearing it’s head again.

    Reply

  82. Oh, Oh, Oh, YUMMMM!!!!! That salmon is gorgeous. Nice pictures.
    Matzo. What I wouldn’t give to have some nice Jewish friends who would invite me to their Seder this year.
    I’m doing a Matzo crunch recipe on my blog soon, you know, the matzo covered in toffee and chocolate? I can’t wait.

    Reply

  84. Hi,
    Just to let you know that not everyone can eat mustard at Passover time. For some sects of Judaism mustard is not allowed. Any ideas for substitution? It looks delicious. Will have to try it after Passover.

    Reply

  91. I made this for my boyfriend and I last night.. Delish!! I love spending hoursss reading all of your recipies…its a bit of an obsession! I feel like cooking my way through this whole website like that Julia Child movie. thanks! 🙂

    Reply

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