Recipes

Pistachio-Crusted Salmon with Lemon-Herb Quinoa & Roasted Asparagus

Salmon fillets with pistachios, lemon and herbs laid out before cooking

This is the dish I make when someone is coming over and I want the kitchen to look like I tried harder than I did. It is one tray, forty-five minutes, and almost all of that is the oven working while I do something else.

The pistachio crust is doing two jobs. The obvious one is crunch against soft fish. The quieter one is insulation — a layer of chopped nut and breadcrumb over the top of the fillet slows the heat reaching it, so the salmon comes out of a hot oven still faintly translucent in the middle rather than chalky. That is also why the crust wants to go on thick and be pressed down properly. A thin scattering browns and falls off; a firm layer stays put and shields what is underneath.

The mustard is glue, not flavour

A tablespoon of Dijon spread over the fillet before the crust goes on is the only thing standing between you and a tray of loose pistachio. You will not taste it in the finished dish. Skip it and the crust slides off the moment you lift the fish with a spatula, which is a sad thing to watch happen to good salmon.

Dry the fillets first. Salmon straight from the packet carries a film of moisture that will keep anything from adhering, mustard included. Thirty seconds with a piece of kitchen paper is the difference between a crust and a garnish.

Dress the quinoa warm

Quinoa is famously bland and it does not have to be. The trick is when you dress it, not what you dress it with. Warm grains take on lemon and oil readily; cold ones sit in the dressing and stay separate from it. So fluff it, then fold the lemon, oil and herbs through while there is still steam coming off the pan.

It also takes far more salt than feels reasonable. Season it, taste it, and then season it again — the herbs and lemon will read as flat until the salt is right, and no amount of extra dill will fix that.

Prep20 min
Cook25 min
Total45 min
Makes4 servings

Ingredients

For the salmon

  • 4 salmon fillets, about 150 g each, skin on
  • 60 g shelled unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Salt and black pepper

For the quinoa

  • 200 g quinoa, rinsed well
  • 400 ml water or light vegetable stock
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 20 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 10 g dill, finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • Salt to taste

For the asparagus

  • 400 g asparagus, woody ends snapped off
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Flaky salt

Method

  1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 200°C fan and line a large baking tray with parchment.
  2. Start the quinoa. Put the rinsed quinoa and water in a saucepan with a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on for 5 minutes more — this is where the grains finish, off the flame.
  3. Make the crust. Mix the chopped pistachios, panko, lemon zest, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. It should look like damp gravel rather than a paste.
  4. Crust the salmon. Pat the fillets dry — the crust will not stick to a wet surface. Season them, spread a thin layer of Dijon over the top of each, then press the pistachio mixture down firmly onto the mustard.
  5. Roast. Put the salmon on one half of the tray. Toss the asparagus with olive oil and spread it on the other half. Roast for 12–14 minutes, until the crust is golden and the salmon flakes when you press it at the thickest point.
  6. Dress the quinoa. Fluff the quinoa with a fork, then fold through the lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, dill and spring onions. Taste and add salt — quinoa takes more than you expect.
  7. Serve. Spoon the quinoa onto warm plates, lay the salmon on top, add the asparagus alongside and finish with flaky salt.

Cook's notes

  • Blitz the pistachios in short pulses if you use a processor. Taken too far they turn oily and the crust goes heavy instead of crisp.
  • The quinoa is better made an hour ahead and dressed while still warm — it takes on the lemon far more readily then than it does cold.
  • Skin-on fillets hold together on the tray. If yours are skinless, lay them on a bed of the asparagus so the underside does not sit in liquid.