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A white plate with a piece of pan-seared Moroccan salmon on a bed of orange slices, red onion, and greens with three black olives on the side.
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5 / 7 votes

Pan-Seared Moroccan Salmon

This pan-seared Moroccan salmon is gently but perfectly spiced, comes together in minutes, is perfect for crazy weeknights yet impressive enough for entertaining, and healthy enough to remind you how good it can taste to take care of yourself.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Moroccan
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 487

Ingredients

  • 2 oranges, preferably seedless
  • 1/2 cup torn basil leaves
  • 1/2 small red onion, slivered
  • 10 large oil-cured black olives, pitted
  • A few handfuls mixed salad greens
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon chile powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
  • Four fillets fresh salmon, without skin
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Using a sharp knife, lop off the top and bottom of the oranges so the oranges stand upright on a cutting board. Trim the rind and the white pith from them. Turn the oranges on their sides and very thinly slice them.
  • Arrange the oranges on 4 plates. Top with the basil and onion and scatter with the olives. Place the greens on top. Drizzle each salad with a little oil. Let rest while you make the salmon.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the chile powder, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Pat the salmon dry and rub the spice mixture on the top side of each salmon fillet.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet. Add the salmon, spice side down, and cook 2 minutes over high heat. Turn and cook to the desired doneness, about 2 minutes longer for rare, depending on the thickness. Arrange a salmon fillet on each salad and drizzle with the remaining oil.

Notes

Vinaigrette For Drizzling Variation

If you really want to make this spice-rubbed salmon and side salad sing, dress it with a lovely little vinaigrette made by whisking together the juice of another orange, a few drops of white wine vinegar, and some extra-virgin olive oil, then dribble it over both salmon and salad. We like it so much, we could see adding this to the rotation of go-to recipes that we turn to during crazy weeks (and save a portion to take to work for lunch the next day, keeping the salmon and salad separate).

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 1121mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g